Early intervention in farming family health : making informed life choices for sustainable family farming

The Sustainable Farm Families project engages with farming families by informing them about healthy living options and farm safety, recognising that family health is essential for them to effectively utilise their economic and natural resources. This evidence-based program works with farming families in an educative and proactive manner in order to empower them to make and sustain a difference in their health status. In the evaluation that followed the first three years of the Project, in addition to the clinical indicators the research team also collected qualitative data relating to farmers' understanding and beliefs about health and well being and its impact on their farming family business. This paper reports farmers' responses about the impact of the project. It includes anecdotal evidence of the choices farmers make as a result of their greater understanding of the causes and outcomes of their personal health and wellbeing.