Kentucky Partners to the BARN (Bringing Awareness Right Now) Program for a Farmer Dinner Theater Addressing Mental Health

The Kentucky Partners to the BARN (Bringing Awareness Right Now) Program for a Farmer Dinner Theater Addressing Mental Health & Wellness will advance the work the Kentucky Nurses Action Coalition (KNAC) has been doing to help build a culture of health and health equity by addressing the impact of social isolation on the mental health and wellness of farmers. As declared in the 2017 AARP Public Policy Institute report, social isolation and its related health implications including stress exacerbated by rural and economic hardships are on an alarming trajectory trend.1 A psychosocial factor increasingly referenced to contribute to farmer suicide is social isolation and a perceived lack of social connectedness and awareness about mental health and wellness.2,3 As any Kentucky farmer will testify, farm life is physically demanding and stressful. Still dealing with tough times amid trade wars, natural disasters, labor shortages and now the economic impact of the COVID 19 global pandemic, today’s farmers are experiencing stress and mental health challenges of epic proportions. Although today’s times are reported as worse than the “Farm Crisis of the 1980s”, rural agricultural communities continue to be challenged by limited access to health and mental health services.4 As a result of the lack of awareness and/or support to manage extreme stress, anxiety, and depression, there are higher rates of suicide among farmers