Pride and fear stops farmers seeking dementia help
A few years ago Jessica and I did some work for Oxfam on poverty amongst farming families in County Durham. It is one of the pieces of work which has most stuck in my memory over the last 10 years. This article made me remember it in all its chilling detail. It tells us:
Farmers and other rural residents are reluctant to seek crucial help to cope with the devastating onset of dementia in their families for a whole variety of reasons, according to new research by academics. In what is thought to be the first major study by a UK university into the impact of dementia specifically in farming and rural communities, researchers say a perception prevails in the countryside of support for people living with dementia being urban-focused and inappropriate for those who have lived and worked outdoors all their lives. Pride, a tradition of self-reliance and the desire for privacy often prevent people from asking for help, the study found. Helen Benson, regional co-ordinator of the Farming Community Network whose volunteers support farming families with health issues, said: “Our farming communities look after their elderly residents within the farming family probably more than any other sector.”