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Sleep issues and burnout in Irish farmers: a cross sectional survey

O'Connor, Siobhán orcid logoORCID: 0000-0002-2001-0746, O'Hagan, Anna Donnla orcid logoORCID: 0000-0001-7509-8960, Malone, Sandra orcid logoORCID: 0009-0000-5759-2906, O'Shaughnessy, Branagh R. orcid logoORCID: 0000-0003-4417-7273, McNamara, John orcid logoORCID: 0000-0003-3013-8695 and Firnhaber, Joseph orcid logoORCID: 0000-0002-0003-1689 (2023) Sleep issues and burnout in Irish farmers: a cross sectional survey. Safety Science, 171 . ISSN 1879-1042

Abstract
Farming can be a demanding, solitary, and unpredictable occupation. As a result, farmers may be more susceptible to sleep issues and burnout than workers in other occupations. However, economic and social pressures that may cause burnout and sleep issues in farmers vary greatly between nationalities. There is a lack of research on sleep and burnout in European, and specifically Irish, farmers using reliable psychometric tests. Therefore, we conducted a cross-sectional prevalence assessment of sleep issues and burnout with a population sample of 351 Irish farmers. Using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), a subscale of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), and the Short Form Health Survey-12 (SFHS), we identified how farmers’ sleep and burnout were correlated with their mental and physical health and identified the role of individual differences such as socioeconomic status, age, and gender. Burnout is common (23%) and sleep issues are widespread (50%) in Irish farmers, with burnt-out farmers reporting especially poor sleep. This has serious implications for farmers’ health, as burnt-out farmers and farmers with poor sleep both reported worse mental and physical health. We identified lower-income as a risk-factor for sleep issues and age and parenthood as risk-factors for burnout but identified few gender differences. While these exploratory findings are constrained by our cross-sectional design, they extend literature on occupational health risks in European agriculture to cover poor sleep and burnout. Irish farmers as a population need health intervention targeting sleep and burnout; especially in older and lower-income populations.
Metadata
Item Type:Article (Published)
Refereed:Yes
Uncontrolled Keywords:Emotional exhaustion; Fatigue, Agriculture; PSQI, Ireland
Subjects:Medical Sciences > Health
Medical Sciences > Mental health
Medical Sciences > Psychology
DCU Faculties and Centres:DCU Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science and Health > School of Health and Human Performance
Publisher:Elsevier
Official URL:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2023.106377
Copyright Information:© 2023 The Authors.
Funders:Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine Ireland, Grant/Award Number: 2021R510
ID Code:29547
Deposited On:02 Feb 2024 14:12 by Joseph Firnhaber . Last Modified 02 Feb 2024 14:12
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