Upper Midwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center (UMASH)
Crisis Incident Stress Management (CISM) Group for Rural Agricultural Communities Following Farm Accidents
Principal Investigator: Darcie Davis-Gage
Agricultural communities in the Upper Midwest experience disproportionately high rates of farm-related accidents, which often result in trauma for farmers, farm workers, individuals working in agribusinesses, emergency responders, healthcare staff and community members. Despite the severity of these incidents, rural areas frequently lack access to evidence-based crisis responses regarding these accidents and incidents that support emotional recovery. This gap in care affects both individual well-being and community resilience.
This project consists of training an interdisciplinary team of mental health professionals and students, agricultural advocates, and community leaders in rural communities. The purpose of this team will be to provide care to the agricultural communities after farming and agricultural accidents and incidents of traumatic events within the agribusinesses and agricultural adjacent activities in rural communities. This team will respond to these events using evidence-based crisis responses for individuals and groups tailored to the needs of these communities.
The project addresses a critical gap in rural behavioral health by offering structured group debriefings to individuals impacted by agricultural accidents, farmers, families, community leaders, volunteer first responders, and ER staff, who often face trauma without adequate support. It is a collaboration between the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, South Central Minnesota EMS Regional System CISM team, and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Center for Rural Behavioral Health at Minnesota State University, Mankato.
Funding for this project is being provided through a grant from Upper Midwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center (UMASH).
For more information contact Darcie Davis-Gage at darcie.davisgage@mnsu.edu.
