By Alice McFarlane

New mental health app for farmers

Jan 29, 2021 | 10:04 AM

MELFORT, Sask. – The Saskatchewan government has unveiled a new tool for farmers to track their mental health.

A mobile phone app, Avail, was developed by Saskatoon-based Bridges Health.

Ministry of Agriculture assistant deputy minister of programs Lee Auten said the app offers farmers a confidential system for recording and analyzing their mental health.

“The farm stress line allows producers to call in, but the Avail app allows people to monitor and track their own progress and their own mental health,” Auten said. “It also allows producers to link to additional online supports and resources.”

Auten said the system is completely confidential while providing immediate support. The app will also help producers find and access care providers in their communities.

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“It helps them understand anxiety, stress, other pressures as well as links to other counselling options at their leisure,” Auten said.

Avail encourages regular check-ins and allows producers to find patterns in the data they log. Auten said there is an increasing need for mental health supports in agriculture. The toll-free Farm Stress Line took more than 1,000 calls during 2019 which is an increase of nearly 30 per cent over the previous year.

“In the last number of years, I think we’ve really seen a shift where producers are seeking out resources and are really opening up and understanding that they really need to take care of their mental health in order to take care of their businesses,” Auten said.

The app was developed with the help of a $10,000 grant from the provincial government’s Innovation Challenge program.

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alice.mcfarlane@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @AliceMcF