Talking to Farmers About Pain

The occupational hazards that farmers face put them at greater risk for acute and chronic pain as a result of ergonomic repetition, accident, or surgical procedure. Addressing specific occupational sources of pain and what activities the pain inhibits are crucial to improving treatment. This module will focus on how to transform the conversation between provider and patient to improve health outcomes and patient satisfaction.

At the end of the presentation, participants will be able to:

1.  Understand the prevalence of occupational hazards amongst farming occupations.
2.  Recognize occupational implications as they relate to acute and chronic pain.
3.  Gain strategies to improve provider-patient conversations about occupational farmer pain.
4.  Identify patient resources to aid in facilitating candid discussion about pain.

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

Alison Hartman, DPT, CF-L1

Consulting PT, DPT, 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 pasts 20 years. Ali was recently named managing partner of Pro-Activity’s North Carolina field office.

Tara Haskins, DNP, MSN, RN, AHN-BC

Total Farmer Health Director

AgriSafe Network

Dr. Tara Haskins oversees partnerships to support AgriSafe’s Total Farmer Health initiative. She is also responsible for AgriSafe’s mental health programming. Tara contributes to curriculum design and implements new Total Farmer Health trainings that optimize and expand upon existing programs. She collaborates with organizations and government agencies that are interested in using the Total Farmer Health model as a public health framework.

Tara has worked in healthcare as a registered nurse for 37 years with clinical experience in medical surgical, critical care, crisis intervention and opioid and alcohol outpatient treatment. Dr. Haskins worked for 11 years in academia as lead faculty in musculoskeletal and psychiatric mental health nursing content across three universities.