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Faculty of Science & Health
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The Farm FaMHealth report reveals the unseen and overlooked mental health struggles of Irish farm family members. Pic by Kyran O'Brien

New study reveals deep mental health pressures on Ireland’s “invisible” farm families

A new study has revealed the unseen and overlooked mental health struggles of Irish farm family members, including partners, parents and children.

While the mental health struggles and psychological demands on primary farmers are widely documented, the Farm FaMHealth project, an initiative by Dublin City University funded by Research Ireland, uncovers a gap: the wider farm family experiences similar mental health challenges as the primary farmer but family members often fail to seek help until they reach a point of severe crisis.

To address this, researchers have launched a nationwide, preventative mental health intervention program. Farm family members across the country are encouraged to participate.

 

An invisible workforce

Over 99% of Irish farms operate as family enterprises, where work and home life are interconnected. The study highlights that spouses and children frequently function as the “invisible workforce”, bearing the weight of unpaid labour, intense domestic burdens, and severe “role overload”.

 

447 Irish farm family members were surveyed for the report. The research reveals a stark picture of the “dual burden” facing farm families:

  • Systemic Overload: 68% of surveyed farm family members are employed off-farm (with 57% working full-time) yet 43% still perform daily physical farm labour.
  • Unpaid labour: Spouses, particularly women, frequently manage household duties, childcare, and farm administration while working off-farm to keep the business financially viable, often without formal wages or recognition.

  • 60% of participants have not sought help for mental health issues. While 30% had “low resilient coping” capacities, exacerbated by the traditional expectations of stoicism and self-reliance which remained both a cultural norm and a major barrier to help seeking in farm family members.

     

Why support services are being missed

A key finding of the report is that family members often do not access existing mental health supports targeting agricultural populations simply because they do not identify as farmers themselves.

“Previous research has focussed almost exclusively on primary farmers,” explained Professor Siobhán O’Connor, Co-Principal Investigator of the project, “However, our qualitative phase showed that spouses and children face identical pressures. Because they don’t view themselves as the primary farm operator, they do not tend to engage with available supports.They suffer in silence, many juggling off-farm employment and daily manual labour to keep the farm afloat.”

 

The study also reveals that those who previously sought professional help reported high levels of psychological distress and burnout compared to those who did not. This indicates that the current mental healthcare systems may not be effective for this population - it may indicate that families are only reaching out when they are in high levels of mental health distress. 

 

Promoting Daily Prevention

In response to these findings, the Farm FaMHealth project has designed a specialised, mental health training program. The program launches at the end of July and recruitment is ongoing for sessions across the country.

Rather than focusing on crisis management, the programme is focussed on early prevention, help-seeking, and daily mutual support.

Key features of the intervention:

  • Recognising early warning signs; Educating family members on how to spot the signs of stress, anxiety and depression in themselves and their loved ones before burnout occurs.
  • Adaptive and flexible delivery: Designed around the farm’s seasonal volatility, offering concise periodic sessions in hybrid (both online and in-person) formats to accommodate demanding farm schedules.
  • Grounding content in reality: linking mental health awareness directly to daily farming stressors, such as succession planning, financial pressures, and regulatory inspections, making the conversation relatable and reducing stigma.

The research team is urging farm family members to sign up for upcoming regional training sessions. 

 

“This is about moving away from the ‘crisis-only’ narrative,” says Dr Sinéad O’Keeffe, Farm FaMHealth researcher. “By educating families on self-care and giving them the tools to speak openly, we can build resilient rural communities that support one another every single day.”

 

For more information on the report, regional training dates, or to register for the upcoming intervention, please visit the official project portal: https://sites.google.com/view/farmfamhealth-project/home

ENDS

 

About the Farm FaMHealth project: Co-led by Professor Siobhán O’Connor and Dr Anna Donnla O’Hagan of the School of Health and Human Performance at Dublin City University. The project explores the mental health outcomes, literacy and intervention preferences of Irish farm families.

Methodology: Phase 1 carried out a comprehensive survey of 447 Irish farm family members. Phase 2 involved qualitative focus groups and in-depth interviews with 32 participants and rural stakeholders to design a tailored intervention. 

Funding: This research is funded and supported by Research Ireland in collaboration with Dublin City University.