Study protocol: Evaluation of the 'real-world' Farmers Have Hearts - Cardiovascular Health Program

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Cardiovascular Health
• Occupational Health

Background:

• Premature cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality is a global concern, with Irish male farmers identified as a high-risk demographic.
• Male farmers are considered a hard-to-reach (HTR) population for traditional health interventions.
• Effective primary prevention strategies for CVD are crucial but often fail to engage HTR groups.

Purpose of the Study:

• To document the study protocol of the Farmers Have Hearts - Cardiovascular Health Program (FHH-CHP).
• To describe a large-scale, workplace health intervention specifically designed for Irish male livestock farmers.
• To highlight the use of gender-specific and strengths-based methods to engage at-risk men in cardiovascular health.

Main Methods:

• The FHH-CHP was a large-scale (n=868) workplace intervention for Irish male livestock farmers.
• It involved baseline and Week 52 health checks and a health behavior change intervention delivered via phone coaching and/or mobile health (m-health) text messages.
• The program employed gender-specific, strengths-based, and multi-actor approaches in real-world settings outside of clinical environments.

Main Results:

• The FHH-CHP successfully reached and engaged a significant number of Irish male livestock farmers in a cardiovascular health program.
• Data collection included health check results and self-report measures at multiple time points (baseline, Week 26, Week 52).
• The intervention demonstrated the feasibility of applying gender-specific approaches in non-clinical settings to improve men's health.

Conclusions:

• The FHH-CHP is the first targeted intervention using gender-specific methods to engage male livestock farmers in cardiovascular health.
• Documenting this protocol can guide practitioners in applying similar gender-specific approaches to other at-risk and HTR male populations.
• Addressing health inequities for men requires engaging them outside clinical settings and adopting gender-competent strategies.