FarmCoSwiss
Long-Term Health Study of and for People Working in Swiss Agriculture and Their Partners
Aim of the study
The FarmCoSwiss study aims to investigate the health, well-being and quality of life of the agricultural work force and their partners in Switzerland. Every profession has certain advantages and disadvantages. In Switzerland, health aspects of the agricultural workers and their partners have not yet been studied in detail. However, research from other countries shows that agricultural work can be associated with an increased health risk, for example due to accidents, environmental influences or economic pressure. Other studies, on the other hand, suggest that the general health of the agricultural population may be better than the health of the general population. The spouses or partners of people working in agriculture also face these agriculture-specific advantages and disadvantages, even if they are not personally involved in agriculture.
Why is this important?
In Switzerland, around 150'000 people work in agriculture. They produce healthy and high-quality food and thus create the basis for our nutrition. The agricultural sector, however, is exposed to many challenges, be it due to climatic, societal or political changes. The survey on health and well-being of Swiss farmers and their spouses or partners will provide evidence on both positive aspects and potential risks of agricultural occupations. It will also identify ways to maintain the attractiveness of agricultural professions.
Who can participate?
Adults aged at least 18 and speaking German, French or Italian, who currently work in Swiss agriculture and who live in Switzerland for an extended period of time are invited to participate in the study. Also cordially invited are spouses and partners of persons working in Swiss agriculture, regardless of whether they themselves are employed in agriculture or not. Persons working in agriculture include self-employed persons, persons in full-time and part-time or seasonal employment, as well as, for example, persons who voluntarily work on a family farm. All eligible individuals per family and/or farm are welcome to participate.
What can I expect if I participate in the study?
After signing an informed consent form for participating in the study, a questionnaire will be sent to you by e-mail or, if you wish, by post mail. The questionnaire includes questions about yourself, your health and quality of life, as well as your farm if you are involved in agriculture yourself. It will take about 40 minutes to complete the questionnaire. All answers from you will be kept strictly confidential and will only be used for scientific purposes.
What is my personal benefit in participating?
A total of 100 Landi vouchers of 50 Swiss francs each will be raffled among all participants. If you wish, we will also send you your personal results on your general health and quality of life compared to the average results of all participants. Finally, with your participation, you will make an important contribution to maintaining and improving the health of people working in Swiss agriculture and their spouses and partners.
I am interested - what should I do now?
Please fill out this non-binding form: https://redcap.link/farmco.swiss. We need the information from the form to be able to send you more detailed information about the study by post mail and to contact you for potential queries.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us at farmcoswiss@swisstph.ch (for inquiries in German, French, Italian or English) or 061 284 89 29 (for inquiries in German and English).
Contacting us does not oblige you to participate. We assure you that your personal data will be treated confidentially at all times.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Project Management
Study Team
Contact
Frequently Asked Questions
If you are 18 years or older, live in Switzerland permanently or for an extended period of time and work in Swiss agriculture, we would be delighted to have you participate! If you yourself are not employed in Swiss agriculture, but your spouse or partner is, you are also warmly welcome to participate in the study. If you are unsure whether you meet the participation requirements, please feel free to contact us at farmcoswiss@swisstph.ch or 061 284 89 29.
If you are interested in participating in the study, please fill in the following non-binding form: https://redcap.link/farmco.swiss. You will then receive more detailed information about the study as well as a registration form by surface mail. If you have any questions, you can contact us at farmcoswiss@swisstph.ch (for inquiries in German, French, Italian or English) or 061 284 89 29 (for inquiries in German or English).
According to the Swiss Human Research Ordinance (HRO), research projects that collect health-related personal data are obliged to obtain the consent of a person before they participate in the study. Individuals are informed about the study content and procedures and can thus subsequently decide whether they wish to participate in the study (i.e. sign the informed consent form) or not. The study information and the informed consent form are evaluated and approved by the responsible ethics committee (for FarmCoSwiss, this is the Ethics Committee Northwestern and Central Switzerland, EKNZ).
After successful registration and signature of the informed consent form, the questionnaire will be sent to you by e-mail (or if you prefer by surface).
The protection of personal data is strictly regulated by Swiss law. We will follow all regulations closely to ensure the security of your data. As a participant, you have the right to have access your data at any time. During the FarmCoSwiss study, we will collect personal information and health data. The Swiss TPH research team is committed to the secure storage of your person-identifying information and research data. The Ethics Committee Northwestern and Central Switzerland has approved the FarmCoSwiss study.
The FarmCoSwiss study is part of the Swiss-wide research project "TRAPEGO" (www.trapego.ch), which is concerned with research into feasible, fair and desirable solutions in the field of sustainability, agriculture and plant protection. The TRAPEGO project, and thus also the FarmCoSwiss study, is funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF).