Community support systems for farmers who live with disability

To return to farming following the onset of a disabling injury or health condition is predicated on a supportive environment for the farm owner-operator. The purpose of this study was to examine barriers and facilitators of returning to work after an injury or acquired disability, and to identify community supports (formal and informal) needed and available to farmers. This was a qualitative study using a participatory action research approach that involved a research team, an advisory group of seven stakeholder participants and semistructured interviews with farmers, their spouses, and service providers in the study communities. A total of 11 farmers and 17 service providers took part in a focus group or were interviewed individually with or without the spouse present. Focus group discussions and interviews were transcribed and analyzed using constant comparison method and team consensus of findings. Themes of barriers and facilitators for return to farming were identified as health care services, financial and economic issues, and "hands-on" assistance. Themes were organized into an ecological conceptual diagram depicting barriers and facilitators in the microsystem of the farm family, the mesosystem of the local farming community and regional health jurisdictions, and the macrosystem of the province and/or nation's social, legislative, and economic realities. Enhancing community support systems for farmers who become disabled as a result of injury or illness will require a multilevel system approach that involves health, financial, and labor resources.