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With a mission to make a difference to farmers' lives the National Centre for Farmer Health (NCFH) was established in 2008.
"Good health is the most important asset of a farming business - without you the farm is nothing," NCFH program coordinator Tracey Hatherell said.
The centre encompasses university research, service delivery and education that provides leadership in improving the health, wellbeing and safety of farm men and women, their families and rural communities across Australia and globally.
Rural health research is a significant component of the NCFH.
The research projects respond directly to the needs of farming communities and are developed in collaboration with farmers, the agricultural industry and relevant partner organisations. Recent areas of research include agrichemical exposure, suicide prevention, digital storytelling, and kidney disease.
The NCFH has been providing health and lifestyle assessments to people in rural communities at field days, education workshops and farmer gatherings for more than a decade.
These 20-minute farmer health assessments include a lifestyle survey covering health behaviours, farm practices and social and emotional wellbeing.
"At a deeper level we have developed the AgriSafe Australia™ program which focuses on occupational health, wellbeing and safety specifically designed for farm men, women and agricultural workers," Tracey said.
This program sees participants meet with trained agricultural health clinicians for a comprehensive 90-minute assessment
Sustainable Farm Families™ is a multi-award winning program delivered across Australia (and now internationally) and was developed to bring better health, wellbeing and safety to people on the land.
It is a practical group program over two or three workshops of straightforward health assessments, education and advice that has proved life-changing and life-saving for many participants.
Education is one of the primary aims of the NCFH. It is of key importance to improve the health, wellbeing and safety of farm men, women and children and requires a multidiscipline, and cross-sectoral approach. The centre provides a range of unique education and training opportunities focussing on agricultural medicine, health and safety.
NCFH will be at the Mallee Machinery Field Days at site 130. Everyone is welcome to visit and have a 20-minute health and lifestyle assessment.
The National Centre for Farmer Health is a partnership between Western District Health Service and Deakin University and is based in Hamilton, Western Victoria.