Introduction

Farming is a physically and psychologically hazardous occupation and farmers face numerous attitudinal and structural barriers to accessing mainstream health and mental health services. As Internet access increases across rural Australia there is potential for online interventions to help overcome barriers and provide new avenues for improving farmers' mental health and wellbeing. However, little is known about how farmers perceive this approach which is problematic given the importance of building in their preferences, to ensure these interventions meet their interests and needs, and have maximum impact. The purpose of this study was to explore the scope of Australian farmers’ current Internet use and their views and preferences on the design and delivery of online, mental health and wellbeing-focused interventions.

Methods

Eighteen farmers (11 men and 7 women, with a median age of 45.5 years) from grain, sheep and/or cattle farms across four states of Australia participated. Telephone-based, semi-structured interviews were used to explore their current Internet use practices and preferences regarding new websites to promote farmers’ mental health and wellbeing. Thematic Framework Analysis was used to analyze and organize the data.

Results

Eight key topics were discussed and several themes within each topic emerged. The first topic related to farmers' current Internet use practices (found to be sporadic, used for weather, banking, emails and research, they are open to using it for health and wellbeing, and they reported that Twitter and other social media reduces social isolation). Themes demonstrating farmers' specific preferences on four aspects of web-design included; preferred aesthetics (authenticity, reflective of farmer diversity, simple layout and font, colours of nature, mix of cartoons and real-life, positive, masculine imagery); preferred language (lay, casual tone, careful use of humour, positive/empowering); preferred technical aspects/capabilities (unreliable Internet connections, limited downloads, compatibility with multiple devices, easy to use, inclusion of music problematic, mixed opinion about inclusion of scientific references and chat features, include videos, case studies) and preferred content/focus for websites of this type (early intervention/prevention, where and how to seek more help). More broadly, contextual influences to consider (multiple pressures of farm life, time poverty, farmers’ outlook is practical and outcome-driven, stigma about mental health decreasing but still exists); strategies to promote engagement (must feel engaged, know what is next, see benefits quickly) and marketing/promotion suggestions (women as advocates for men, use trusted sources to promote, emphasize that information can be accessed from privacy of own home/farm) were also highlighted by participants.

Conclusions

Findings will help inform the development of new mental health and wellbeing-focused online interventions for farmers to maximize uptake, engagement and impact. In particular, these interventions need to be perceived as relevant and authentic, while also reflecting the diversity of the farming population, which farmers believe can be achieved by carefully considering their preferences for aesthetics, language, technological requirements and the unique farming context.

中文翻译：

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农民希望从关注心理健康和福祉的网站和在线干预中获得什么

介绍

农业是一种对身体和心理都有危害的职业，农民在获得主流健康和心理健康服务方面面临着许多态度和结构障碍。随着澳大利亚农村互联网接入的增加，在线干预有可能帮助克服障碍，并为改善农民的心理健康和福祉提供新的途径。然而，对于农民如何看待这种方法知之甚少，鉴于建立他们的偏好的重要性，以确保这些干预措施满足他们的利益和需求，并产生最大的影响。本研究的目的是探索澳大利亚农民当前互联网使用的范围，以及他们对在线、心理健康和福祉为重点的干预措施的设计和交付的看法和偏好。

方法

来自澳大利亚四个州的谷物、绵羊和/或牛场的 18 名农民（11 名男性和 7 名女性，平均年龄为 45.5 岁）参加了此次活动。基于电话的半结构化访谈被用来探索他们当前的互联网使用习惯和对新网站的偏好，以促进农民的心理健康和福祉。主题框架分析用于分析和组织数据。

结果

讨论了八个关键主题，每个主题中出现了几个主题。第一个主题与农民当前的互联网使用习惯有关（发现是零星的，用于天气、银行、电子邮件和研究，他们愿意将其用于健康和福祉，并且他们报告说 Twitter 和其他社交媒体减少了社交孤立）。展示农民对网页设计四个方面的特定偏好的主题包括；首选美学（真实性，反映农民的多样性，简单的布局和字体，自然的颜色，卡通和现实生活的混合，积极的男性形象）；首选语言（外行、随意的语气、谨慎使用幽默、积极/赋权）；首选技术方面/功能（不可靠的互联网连接，下载限制，与多个设备的兼容性，易于使用，包含音乐有问题的，关于纳入科学依据和聊天功能的混合意见，包括视频，案例研究）和偏好的内容/聚焦于这种类型的网站（早期干预/预防，在哪里以及如何寻求更多帮助）。更广泛地说，需要考虑的背景影响（农场生活的多重压力、时间贫困、农民的前景是实用的和以结果为导向的、对心理健康的污名减少但仍然存在）；促进参与的策略（必须感到参与，知道下一步是什么，快速看到好处）和营销/促销建议 （女性作为男性的倡导者，使用可信赖的来源进行宣传，强调可以从自己的家/农场的隐私中访问信息）也被参与者强调。

结论

调查结果将有助于为农民开发新的以心理健康和福祉为重点的在线干预措施，以最大限度地提高吸收率、参与度和影响。特别是，这些干预措施需要被认为是相关的和真实的，同时也反映了农业人口的多样性，农民认为可以通过仔细考虑他们对美学、语言、技术要求和独特的农业环境的偏好来实现这一点。