ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Mental Health
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1600624
This article is part of the Research TopicWorld Mental Health Day: Mental Health in the WorkplaceView all 23 articles
Support Needs, Received Support and Mental Well-Being in Austrian Farmers: A Mixed-Methods Approach
Provisionally accepted- 1Department for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Health and Medicine,University of Continuing Education Krems, Krems an der Donau, Austria
- 2University for Continuing Education Krems, Krems an der Donau, Lower Austria, Austria
- 3University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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Introduction: Although Austrian farmers are at increased risk for mental ill health, there is limited research on their specific support needs and hardly any evidence on the prevalence of these support requirements. This study aims to explore the mental health support needs of Austrian farmers and to identify the types of support they consider most useful.Methods: An online survey was conducted among 2,006 Austrian farmers. Participants completed standardized questionnaires assessing mental health parameters-including the PHQ-9 (depression), GAD-7 (anxiety), ISI-2 (insomnia), PSS-4 (perceived stress), , and CAGE (alcohol abuse) -and answered a dichotomous question regarding their desire for mental health support. Those who indicated a wish for support provided free-text descriptions of the specific type of help they desired. Additionally, farmers were asked whether they were already receiving support to improve their mental well-being. A mixed-methods approach was used to analyze both the quantitative mental health data and the qualitative free-text responses.Results: Approximately 32% of the farmers expressed a desire to receive support to improve their mental well-being. Qualitative analysis of the free-text responses revealed a variety of support wishes, with coaching, counselling, mediation, and psychotherapy being the most common. Other prominent themes were the need for practical support related to farm work, time for recreation, financial support, and enhanced communication. Furthermore, around 14% of participants reported already receiving some form of mental health support. Farmers who either desired or were receiving support exhibited higher levels of depression, anxiety, insomnia, alcohol abuse, and perceived stress compared to those without such support needs.The study identifies a vulnerable subgroup within the Austrian farming community that experiences significant mental health challenges and expresses clear support needs. These findings emphasize the importance of developing tailored interventions that address both the psychological and practical aspects of farmers' well-being, thereby enhancing resilience and improving overall mental health outcomes in this essential occupational group.
Keywords: Mental Health, support wishes, Austrian agriculture, Received support, Well-being
Received: 27 Mar 2025; Accepted: 02 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Humer, Gächter, Pieh and Neubauer. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Elke Humer, Department for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Health and Medicine,University of Continuing Education Krems, Krems an der Donau, Austria
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