Health Risk Factors Among Albertan Farmers and Farming Families

This longitudinal study examined the health and wellbeing of Albertan farmers and farming families enrolled in the government-funded Sustainable Farm Families Alberta Program (SFFAP) organized by the Farm Safety Centre in Raymond, Alberta.

The SFFAP has been running every year since November 2014. Participants, mainly farmers and farming families, received health-based education on a wide range of health issues to help increase their knowledge of multiple health risk factors and provide them with skills to identify those risk factors.

By learning how to develop and follow through with a health plan, they also apply the skills and knowledge gained to improve their families' health and wellbeing.

Participants also received education on safe farming practices. We determined the prevalence of multiple health risk factors, the links between the risk factors, and the benefits of a health-based education intervention among the SFFAP participants.

This study provided a quality assurance assessment of the effectiveness of the SFFAP in improving: (1) Albertan farmers and farming families' knowledge and awareness of multiple health risk factors; (2) the skills needed to prevent those risk factors; and (3) their health and wellbeing.