Behind the scenes: spousal coping following permanently disabling injury of farmers.
Hidden within the pastoral setting of rural America are the struggles of farm families who must cope with a decreasing economy, increasing technology, and one of the highest injury rates of any industry. Wives of farmers often juggle household responsibilities, hold an off-farm job, and work on the farm. Too often, wives are first on the scene of a serious injury to their spouses. All attention is focused on the farmer but the wife must cope with caregiving, her usual work, and the added full responsibility of the farm. This grounded theory study examined the process of spousal coping after a permanently disabling injury occurred to their farmer husbands. Interviews conducted with 12 farm wives elicited four themes in the coping process. These findings may help identify critical points of mental stress and form interventions to assist spouses of injured farmers in their adjustment to changing roles and responsibilities.
Reed
Deborah B
DB
University of Kentucky, Southeast Center for Agricultural Health and Injury Prevention, UK Colleges of Medicine and Nursing, Lexington, Kentucky, USA. dbreed01@pop.uky.edu
Claunch
Deborah T
DT
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000382:Agricultural Workers' Diseases; D006233:Persons with Disabilities; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011568:Psychiatric Nursing; D012944:Social Support; D018454:Spouses / Q000523:psychology*; D014481:United States; D014947:Wounds and Injuries