Interactive wellbeing tools a click away – Australian Citrus News

Read Dr Alison Kennedy’s interview for Australian Citrus Magazine about how the NCFH adapted to continue their service delivery during the pandemic. Pages 16 – 17.

Mosquito-borne diseases

Mosquitoes can carry many different diseases that can be passed on to humans through a mosquito bite.

In Australia, these include:

Murray Valley Encephalitis (MVE) virus:

MVE is a serious but rare infection. The majority of people infected by the virus don’t show symptoms. Others develop a mild illness and make a full recovery. A small proportion of people go on to develop encephalitis – a swelling of the brain tissue that can lead to brain damage or death.

Symptoms of the virus usually appear 7 to 12 days after being infected by a mosquito bite and can include fever, nausea and vomiting, headache and muscle aches. Encephalitis symptoms are serious and require urgent medical attention. They include severe headaches, neck stiffness, sensitivity to bright light, seizures or fits (especially in young children), drowsiness and confusion.

MVE virus cannot be spread directly from one person to another, only via a mosquito bite. The virus is present all year in northern Australia and can be present in Victoria during the summer months – especially during heavy rainfall or flooding.

Ross River and Barmah Forest virus:

Ross River and Barmah Forest viruses are very similar, especially in their symptoms – however, Barmah Forest virus symptoms tend to be milder.

Ross River virus and Barmah Forest virus can cause joint inflammation and pain, fatigue and muscle aches, and a rash. Recovery is generally between 3 and 6 months, although some people have intermittent symptoms for a year or more.

Dengue virus:

Dengue virus is also spread by mosquito bites and is an issue in tropical and subtropical parts of the world including Africa, Asia, South America and some parts of Northern Queensland in Australia. It is not a common virus. Cases generally occur when someone from an international location visits or returns to Australia and introduces the virus to the local mosquito population.

Dengue virus ranges in severity from mild to severe flu-like illness. There is no specific treatment or vaccine. Symptoms include fevers, headaches, pain in joints and muscles, lack of appetite, nausea and vomiting, and skin rash. These symptoms generally resolve within one to two weeks.

Japanese Encephalitis (JE) virus:

Japanese encephalitis is a rare but serious infection of the brain spread to humans through mosquito bites. The virus can be transmitted from pigs to humans via a mosquito bite. JE virus cannot be caught by eating pork or pig products. Those most at risk of JE are people who live near or work with pigs. Children under the age of 5 years and older people are at higher risk of developing severe illness when infected with the JE virus.

Symptoms of JE can range from very mild to severe illness including fever, headache, light sensitivity, neck stiffness, vomiting, confusion, convulsions and coma. Symptoms develop between 6-16 days after being bitten by an infected mosquito. There is no specific treatment.

Across Australia, JE virus vaccination is available for specific priority groups, including those who may have occupational exposure, free of charge. These groups include those who work or live at a piggery; personnel who work directly with mosquitoes; and, diagnostic and research laboratory workers who may be exposed to JE virus. GP clinics can provide the JE virus vaccination.

Find out specific information about at-risk regions and vaccination eligibility by contacting your state or territory health authority or speak to your GP.

Farmers and agricultural workers should be aware that the JE virus can cause encephalitis in pigs and horses, leading to infertility and abortion; neurological symptoms in pigs; and, fever, lethargy, anorexia and neurological symptoms in horses.

JE virus is a notifiable exotic disease in animals throughout Australia. If you suspect an animal is showing signs of JE virus – you must report it, either by contacting your local veterinarian or call the national Emergency Animal Disease Watch Hotline on 1800 675 888.

Notification:

Murray Valley Encephalitis (MVE), Ross River, Barmah Forest, Dengue and Japanese Encephalitis viruses are all nationally notifiable diseases in humans.

• Notification to the Communicable Diseases Network Australia (CDNA) is made by health professionals after diagnosis through laboratory or clinical evidence.

How to avoid mosquito bites:

Prevention of mosquito bites is key to reducing the risk of infection from Murray Valley Encephalitis virus, Ross River and Barmah Forest virus, Dengue virus and Japanese Encephalitis virus. There are many ways you can protect yourself against mosquito bites, they include:

• Wearing long, loose-fitting clothing and covering up as much as possible
• Using an effective mosquito repellent on all exposed skin
• Preventing mosquito breeding around the home by:
  • Removing any uncovered areas where water can lie, including pet water bowls, underneath pot plants, bird baths, tyres, wheelbarrows and children’s toys
  • Keeping lawns and gardens trimmed to reduce the areas where mosquitoes can rest
• Preventing mosquitoes from entering the home by using intact and well-fitting fly screens on windows and doors.

Fast facts:

• Mosquitoes can carry a range of different viruses
• Many mosquito-borne viruses can cause flu-like symptoms ranging from very mild to severe
• Preventing mosquito bites and mosquito breeding are key to reducing risks associated with mosquito-borne disease.

Episode 17: “Changing safety culture: a team effort”

Safety first – what’s the rush?

Listen now to learn how the Aurora Dairies team implemented major change in order to improve the mental health and physical safety of their many employees. 

Aurora Dairies is one of Australia’s largest milk producers, operating over more than 16,000 hectares across 33 pasture based dairy farms. Led by CEO Ben James, they know that making changes to the safety practices in your farming workplaces can be a major challenge.

After three all-terrain vehicle incidents in 2018, Aurora Dairies made massive changes to their use of ATVs.
By incorporating low-cost technology and working alongside their farm managers and farm teams, they geo-fenced their properties – and later, removed quad bikes all together.

Now streaming on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and here.

This podcast is part of the Primary Producer Knowledge Network led by the National Centre for Farmer Health to promote mentally healthy workplaces. Campfire, part of the Primary Producer Knowledge Network, was funded by the Victorian State Government’s WorkSafe WorkWell Mental Health Improvement Fund.

Shifting our thinking on safety

Factors in your workplace can impact on your mental health – such as poor workplace support and training, safety, poor workplace relationships, issues with communication and how change is managed. These are called work-related factors, which when not addressed can increase the risks of workplace stress or lead to poor workplace mental health. However, there are some simple ways to reduce these risks on your farm.

I have always loved farming since I was a little kid, but grew up in a country town. My friends all lived on farms, but I was a townie.

When I finished school I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do – so I applied to work on a large farm not far out of town. I liked the animal and machinery side of it all, but wasn’t so sure about the early mornings, muddy winter days outdoors and how to stay safe while getting the work done on time. There was so much happening around me all the time.  If you haven’t guessed yet – my job was on a dairy farm. There were 2000 cows and about 30 people worked there – quite a few were new at the game like me. It was a big set-up and quite unlike any of my friend’s family run dairy farms.

There was a lot of training to start with. Induction courses for this, that and the other piece of machinery. Safety was a priority, which was reassuring, but there was a lot to get your head around. You had to do everything in the right order and fill out lots of checklists. No shortcuts allowed. I just wanted to get out there in the paddocks on the quadbike and round up the cows and bring them in for milking. My friends and I rode quads and motorbikes on their properties all the time, so this, I felt, I could do well.

The first thing I noticed were all the rules about quadbike safety. Helmets, operator protection devices, special tyres, speed limiters, GPS tracking, “no go” zones, pre-start checks etc. The farm manager said they’d had incidents with quadbikes and they were keen to avoid any more accidents on the farm. So even when they did send me out, there was another guy with me to make sure I didn’t muck up, get lost or stress the cows out too much. It wasn’t as much fun as I thought – no hooning around after all.

And always being reminded why the rules were necessary, and cautioned if I cut corners. It was all monitored apparently. Maybe I wasn’t going to have as much fun as I’d hoped in this job, but I liked the team and I liked the animals. And I have to admit, their strategies for on-boarding new staff and managing their workload were strong; I never felt like I was out of my depth, or inundated with lots of jobs too early. Having someone else out there with me did help me learn my job better.

I was out getting the cows in for milking one afternoon and there was a call for help on the radio to go and help another guy who had got into trouble out the back of the property near where I was. He was a pretty experienced farm hand, so I was surprised. I found him lying on the ground with a busted shoulder and the quad bike on its side nearby, engine still running. He was in a fair bit of pain. I couldn’t work it out at first. He never went fast and it wasn’t a steep paddock or a no-go zone. Seems like he had just dropped a wheel in a hole hidden by the grass, and the thing had flipped over.

I won’t bore you with the details, but Mick ended up having quite a few months off work to recover before coming back to work. The farm manager kept in touch and helped him through what was a pretty rough time. We all tried to stay in touch a bit and it was great when he did come back to work.

Mick’s accident, and what turns out was another one or two before it, led to lots of meetings to re-assess the use of the quad bikes on this farm. There was lots of consultation and surveys with all the staff but in the end the decision was made to get rid of all the quad bikes – because even if you do everything right, you can still have them roll over. We might not have all agreed, but the managers did a great job of making the change – and they took all of our feedback on board.

They brought in side by sides which have all sorts of extra safety features. You have to wear a seatbelt properly to even get it to move. Reckon it’ll keep me warmer and drier in those winter mornings though. While I didn’t like the changes that much, I did understand the reason for it – our safety as workers.

Listen to Campfire podcast episode 17 to hear how one company approached the same safety issues and successfully implemented major change to make their workplace safer.

Injuries on the farm can lead to stress, long-term health concerns and loss of income or even fatalities, so preventing them from happening is the best way of protecting your mental health. When it comes to running the family farm, investing in mental health initiatives is not only good for your family and workers, but it’s good for business too.

The NCFH is supporting farmers just like you to manage and respond to work-related risks that impact on workplace mental health – these are factors in your work that can affect an employee’s mental health and include poor environmental conditions, low job control, low role clarity and more.

Managing these factors, means decreasing the risk of work-related stress.
Find out more about being mentally safe on farm at www.farmerhealth.org.au/campfire.

From sheep and pastures to service providers

By Kelly Barnes.

My introduction to research began when I commenced my BSc (hons) in Animal Health at Harper Adams University in the UK back in 2001. I found my passion within livestock production and in my final year completed my honours thesis looking at feeding Omega 3 fatty acids to pregnant ewes to increase lamb survival. This involved countless hours spent in the midst of winter observing lambing ewes, timing births and how long it took for the lambs to stand and suckle. Collecting data was at the forefront of my thesis, from weighing differing feed allocations, measuring milk production and composition in ewes and the immune response of ewes and lambs measured through blood samples taken. More recently I was fortunate to lend a hand in a pasture trail here in Western Victoria, which involved pasture cuts, weighing, sorting and drying samples. I was fascinated and intrigued, despite plants not being my first love.

My focus has shifted away from producing healthy sheep and pastures to promoting healthy farmers. Nevertheless, my inquisitive side is still strong and I am excited to have the opportunity to explore a topic that I have been considering for some time. With lived experience of working on farms and in rural service provider roles together with my highly empathic nature, I couldn’t help but see the impact that working day after day with farmers through challenging times has on those in agricultural service providing roles. The genuine connection that service providers form with their clients is above and beyond their role, yet is such a natural progression in a small rural community.

So the question I have been asking is – what are we doing to support these people?

Fast forward through many thoughts and ideas, I was encouraged to bring this question to the table at our monthly research brainstorming meetings and my little seed began to grow! I applied and was accepted to join the emerging researcher program with Western Alliance and have just completed day 1 of the program better known as the STaRR program. The program is aimed at early-stage researchers teaching research skills, and providing feedback and input on ideas with the end goal of guiding them to develop a research protocol and a completed literature review.

The cobwebs are being dusted off, the cogs are starting up again, and I am slowly being reminded of all those hazy lectures from the early 2000’s! With previous work in animal research, not human research, and mostly data collection as opposed to project design, these new skills place me in a place of growth, with the opportunity to learn and combine my previous knowledge and experience with new ways of measuring and evaluating.

With journal articles and highlighters at the ready, I joined the full-day Zoom session for the first day of the program. We heard from knowledgeable researchers and other early researchers like myself. As the day went on our vague big-picture research concepts were tweaked and trimmed to become tangible research questions. The program is designed to fit in around busy clinical schedules and already full plates allowing 5 weeks to chip away at literature searching and catching up with assigned mentors before we regroup at the end of November for more research skills and training.

Stay tuned to find out what develops from this emerging researcher in part 2!!

Farmer Health eNews November 2022

Find out the latest from the National Centre for Farmer Health

• Seeking new NCFH Advisory Group members
• Applications for Agricultural Health and Medicine (HMF701) 2023 now open!
• From sheep and pastures to service providers… by Kelly Barnes
• Wellness Wednesday

View the November 2022 eNews

Read past issues of eNews

Do you want to receive our eNews?

CLOSED – Seeking new NCFH Advisory Group members

This application process is now closed. If you are interested in being considered for an Advisory Group Member role in the future, please email ncfh@wdhs.net.

——————————————————————————————————

Are you passionate about improving farmer health, wellbeing and safety? Do you have a demonstrated track record of commitment to health and/or agriculture, rural health, wellbeing, farming or farm safety matters?

We are seeking new NCFH Advisory Group members from across Australia to contribute their expertise and help us achieve our vision to make a difference to farmers’ lives. For more information please review the Terms of Reference and Position Description below.

If you have any questions please email us at ncfh@wdhs.net.

NCFH’s agile COVID-19 response saves lives and millions

RECENT evaluation findings show that the National Centre for Farmer Health (NCFH) responded to change through the COVID-19 pandemic with significant agility—working productively and collaboratively with partners to deliver services that were highly regarded by the farming community.

This demonstrated ability to adapt to changing circumstances and demands has kept farmers involved with vital health services throughout the global pandemic, and helps shape future plans to build on increased engagement and service delivery offerings, NCFH Director, Dr. Alison Kennedy said.

“I am incredibly proud to lead a dedicated team of farmer health specialists who bring a range of skills and an incredibly important understanding of farming life and work to their roles at the Centre. Their passion and dedication meant that we have been able to adapt, improve and continue to deliver meaningful and tailored support to our farming communities—in spite of Covid challenges.”

Victorian Labor Government’s Delivering for Regional and Rural Victoria Program injected $4 million over four years to NCFH, delivering on its 2018 election commitment and contributing to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Advancement Output.

This funding, which continues until mid-2023, helped put farmers’ health on the agenda.

The recent evaluation also found that for every Government dollar invested, NCFH demonstrated an average return of $17.26 for their Health and Lifestyle Assessments (free 20-minute health check), $13.78 for AgriSafe Clinics^TM (free comprehensive 90-minute health check program), and $67.10 for Farmer HAT (a free online health self-assessment tool).

Cost savings to society as a result of screening, prevention, and early intervention programs like the HLAs and AgriSafe program alone is projected to be $10.9 million over 10 years, and $216,361 over 10 years in Government cost savings.

 “Throughout this latest funding period, NCFH raised an additional $1.13 for every core funding dollar invested by the Government and despite increased challenges faced by the farming and healthcare workforce during COVID-19, the NCFH has achieved substantial growth,” Dr. Kennedy said.

“The Centre, based in Hamilton, directly supports 19 staff members and works collaboratively to support the work of numerous contract staff and health service partners across Victoria and nationally. This extends our reach to a wide network of farmers through our Health and Lifestyle Assessments and AgriSafe^TM Clinics, our education and training programs such as our secondary student farm safety program Gear up for Ag^TM, and programs such as Campfire which focus on reducing mental health risks for farmers.”

Adapting its service delivery during COVID-19, NCFH shifted many of its education and research programs from face-to-face to interactive online options, including live social media webinars, podcasts, small group discussion rooms, and facilitated co-design workshops.

This was demonstrated particularly in the development of online Farmer HAT (health assessment tool), Steering Straight (a downloadable resource helping farmers plan to stay on track amid challenging or stressful times), and access to telehealth services from accredited psychologists with specific farmer health training.

NCFH also led a dedicated social media campaign (#SnapshotRuralVic) in 2021 to boost mental health through shared stories and images, encouraging virtual social connection, and are set to launch a new social media campaign soon to support farmers affected by the recent floods.

NCFH plans to continue utilising skills and technologies adopted during COVID-19 to enhance farmer engagement and reach in post-pandemic Australia.

“Our Centre is continuing to develop and grow opportunities for farmer health, wellbeing and safety, through strong and critical partnerships with government, industry, health services, and—most importantly—the farming community. While our farming communities face many current challenges, we are well-placed to tackle these together to make a difference to farmers’ lives and hope to receive a commitment from the Victorian Government to ensure our ongoing funding in the very near future.” Dr. Alison Kennedy explains.

——- ENDS ——-

Available for quotes:
Dr. Alison Kennedy, Director of the National Centre for Farmer Health
alison.kennedy@wdhs.net 
(03) 5551 8533

Media Contact 
Annabelle Macgugan 
amacgugan@wdhs.net
0458517699 

For more information about the National Centre for Farmer Health visit https://farmerhealth.org.au.

From co-design to co-production: Approaches, enablers, and constraints in developing a public health, capacity-building solution

Abstract

Introduction

Investigating how co-designed knowledge can be translated to co-produce a public health capacity-building solution for difficult-to-engage population groups drawing on the co-production experience of a prevention-focused, capacity-building mental health solution targeting primary producers.

Design

A qualitative study was undertaken in rural and regional Victoria involving members of the design working group including the project team (7px), the digital design team (5px), the marketing team (3px), and funding partner representatives. The study design involved reflective practice to collect data to identify the phases of co-production and assess the design working group members’ experiences. The analysis involved inductive coding using Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis.

Objective

Identifying major points of divergence and/or convergence; enablers and/or constraints, and ways to better navigate and strengthen the co-production process.

Finding

Given members of the design working group, diverse skills sets divergence was experienced in all co-production phases. Divergence was also experienced between the project team and the funding partner given the uniqueness of working conditions and requirements of workers in the primary production industry. The project team applied an iterative development process to project management; encouraging iterative cycles to create/test/revise among the teams, and with the funding partner, until each was satisfied with the end result (convergence).

Discussion & Conclusion

When developing a co-created public health prevention campaign it is critical that the project team focuses on relationship building among the members of the design working group and ensures adequate resourcing, development of shared understanding of project goals and target audience, ongoing communication, and a commitment to working iteratively.

The Primary Producer: CHECKING IN WITH FARMERS

Episode 16: “Working dogs and farmer wellbeing”

Building connections with other farmers and the community is as much of a preventative tool as it is a supportive one. Catch up with Kelly Barnes in this Campfire podcast episode as she discusses the key learnings from the ‘Mates dog school’, and how your working dog can support your mental and physical wellbeing. 

Now streaming on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and here.

This podcast is part of the Primary Producer Knowledge Network led by the National Centre for Farmer Health to promote mentally healthy workplaces. Campfire, part of the Primary Producer Knowledge Network, was funded by the Victorian State Government’s WorkSafe WorkWell Mental Health Improvement Fund.

Farmer Health eNews October 2022

Find out the latest from the National Centre for Farmer Health

• Expand your knowledge with a scholarship to complete the Agricultural Health and Medicine (HMF701)!
• The Farming a Brighter Future symposium was a success!
• Help inform research about chemical usage on Victorian farms
• Wellness Wednesday

View the October 2022 eNews

Read past issues of eNews

Do you want to receive our eNews?