Personal and environmental risk factors also contribute to increased risk of adverse mental health among
NCR agricultural producers. Individuals may be at increased risk of mental health conditions due to factors
such as gender, education, decision-making authority, legal status, and a sense of self-efficacy or mastery
(i.e., that one has control over their life). Farm families, including children and spouses, tend to experience
agricultural stressors acutely and immediately, resulting in increased risky behavior by youth on farms,
developmental problems among adolescents, reduction in spousal perception of marital quality, and marital
instability (Reidhead et al. 2020).
In response to strong demand, Missouri expanded access to the suite of mental and behavioral health programs, resulting in the need to compare outcomes across the state in order to learn what programs are most effective in Missouri. This expansion of services created the need to further validate the program impacts and outcomes.
Missouri’s suite of mental health programs is not producer -centric and is designed to address specific mental
health challenges, effectively treating different symptoms and requiring varying commitments of resources
and personnel. The NexGen Program Evaluation determines the mental health care programs that produce
the desired outcomes and help to create wrap-around producer-centric programs that can be utilized by
Missouri mental health care providers and NCR partner institutions. The NexGen Program Evaluation
developed an operationalized product that can be effectively implemented across the state based on the
impacts and outcomes demonstrated in Missouri.
The NexGen Program Evaluation:
Supports partner institutions to increase effectiveness in addressing the mental health challenges
that producers in the region are facing.
Addresses the mental health challenges of producers to improve their quality of life, as well as to
help reduce the following:
absenteeism;
•
work presenteeism;
•
rates of agricultural-related injury;
•
suicidal ideation; and
•
• premature death due to suicide, heart disease, cancer, and respiratory diseases.
Ensures an inclusive mental health support network that expands local communities’ capacity to
intervene and disrupt the negative effects that poor mental health is creating for producers and
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