General Practice · Public Health · 3 h ago
Farmers describe barriers to care and support during prolonged illness
A qualitative study based on interviews with 10 Norwegian farmers explored prolonged illness or injury and their experiences with general practitioners and NAV. Participants described continuing farm work while ill, difficulty finding relief workers, and frustration with benefit rules and advisers unfamiliar with farming conditions.
- Farmers often continued farm work while ill.
- Livestock care and seasonal tasks were difficult to delegate.
- Participants reported benefit rules poorly suited to farming.
- The qualitative study included 10 Norwegian farmers.
Researchers conducted 10 semi-structured interviews with Norwegian farmers who had experienced long-term illness or injury that limited their ability to work. All participants were responsible for livestock; they were aged 35–65 years, and the group included three women and seven men. Interviews were conducted from March to August 2024 and analysed using systematic text condensation. The study explored farm work during illness and participants’ experiences with general practitioners and the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV).
Participants commonly continued working despite illness because time-critical tasks, including animal care and seasonal work, could not readily be handed over. They described a high threshold for seeking medical care and said that welfare benefit rules did not fit the realities of farming, particularly for self-employed farmers. Encounters with clinicians and NAV advisers who did not understand their working conditions were a source of frustration.
The findings highlight reported challenges in care and welfare support for this small, purposively recruited group. The authors say clinicians and NAV advisers need knowledge of farmers’ working conditions, occupational risks and benefit rules, and identify a possible need to review farmers’ welfare arrangements and relief-worker support. The qualitative design describes participants’ experiences; it does not establish how common these experiences are among farmers generally.
In practice
For clinicians caring for farmers, the interviews suggest that illness may not promptly stop farm work: participants described continuing despite symptoms when livestock and seasonal tasks could not be delegated, alongside a high threshold for seeking care. Asking about farm responsibilities and whether essential tasks can be covered may help clarify work-related pressures during illness. This is qualitative evidence from 10 purposively recruited Norwegian farmers, not an estimate of prevalence or evidence that a particular care or benefit intervention improves outcomes.
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Tidsskrift for Den norske legeforening: Farmers’ experiences with health and welfare services in relation to illness: a qualitative study ↗This is an automated AI-condensed summary that has not yet been reviewed by an editor. Always consult the full item at the original source.