Assessment of Opioid Misuse Risk Among Farmers in the Clinical Setting

Prescription opioids are often the first-line therapy to treat chronic and acute pain among farmers. Prescribing opioids to farmer populations that may not seek regular treatment or have access to alternative therapies increases the risk for potential opioid misuse. Properly assessing for these characteristics among other abuse or addiction risk factors, is critical in providing treatment that is both appropriate and effective. The training module will seek to provide insight on misuse risk factors among farmers to better inform healthcare providers on warning signs in this specific cohort.

By the end of the webinar, participants will be able to:

List potential risk factors for opioid misuse among farmers.
Understand proper opioid misuse assessment strategies.
Identify effective alternatives for treating chronic and acute pain among farmers

This project was supported by the FY17 USDA NIFA Rural Health and Safety Education Competitive Grants Program of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA, Grant # 2017-46100-27225 and the FY18 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Rural Opioids Technical Assistance Grants (ROTA) # TI-18-022

Dr. Ali Hartman, DPT

Consulting PT, CF-L1, Pro-Activity North Carolina

Clinically trained as a Doctor of Physical Therapy, Ali harbors a deep appreciation for the human body and the resilience it holds. Unlike traditional rehabilitation professionals, Ali spends the majority of her time outside of the clinic walls, embedding herself within working populations to maximize the health, well-being, and performance of groups and individuals while leveraging her unique experience in workplace prevention and health promotion.

She has completed advanced certifications in Applied Prevention and Health Promotion Therapies, and residency at Pro-Activity, a human achievement company that has specialized in workplace prevention and health promotion with industrialized workforces for the past 20 years. Ali was recently named managing partner of Pro-Activity’s North Carolina field office.

Charlotte Halverson, RN, BSN, COHN-S

Total Farmer Health Coach, AgriSafe Network

Charlotte served as the Clinical Director for AgriSafe thru the end of 2022 and is currently a Total Farmer Health Coach. Prior to this role, she worked for several years in hospital acute care settings and community education. During those years, Charlotte developed and managed a Rural Outreach Health service and a Parish Health Ministry department serving nine counties in northeast Iowa. She is a "charter graduate" of the University of IA agricultural occupational medicine course, is certified in occupational hearing conservation and completed the NIOSH Spirometry training. From 1997 to 2013, she provided agricultural occupational health services and program development for the National Education Center for Agricultural Safety.