Wheeler Rebecca, Nye Caroline
Centre for Rural Policy Research, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.
J Agromedicine. 2025 Jan;30(1):132-152. doi: 10.1080/1059924X.2024.2407385. Epub 2024 Sep 29.
Health and well-being have long been identified as key issues for investigation within agricultural communities. While myriad studies have been conducted to investigate causation, impact, outcomes and interventions among farming populations, the overall emphasis has been disproportionately weighted away from the experiences of women. This systematic scoping review determines the prevalence of topics, identifies the target populations and geographical locations of studies, outlines methodological approaches to the subject area, and summarizes the key findings and conclusions of the available literature.
With the guidance of the Arksey and O'Malley framework for conducting a scoping review, a single database search for publications focusing on the health and well-being of women in farming (including primary farmers, members of farm households, and farmworkers), in the Global North, published between 1990 and 2023, was conducted. Data were organized, thematically coded, critically appraised and analyzed using the systematic review online tool CADIMA.
In total, 93 studies met the inclusion criteria for full review. The majority of studies were conducted in the United States, with the number of publications steadily increasing since the 1990s. Of studies, 68% were wholly quantitative in nature, and 23% wholly qualitative. Key findings suggest women are at particular risk from certain illnesses associated with some aspects of agricultural work and face a number of stressors (including gender-specific issues) that can lower well-being, but evidence is scarce in a number of areas. Clear gaps in research exist in relation to reproductive health, caring responsibilities, or help-seeking and support. Women primary farmer and farmworkers are particularly neglected as study cohorts.
Numbers of studies related to the health and well-being of women in farming are still relatively small in comparison with the wider body of related literature, and there exists an obvious need for further studies with a specific emphasis on particular cohorts, issues pertaining to the contemporary climate, and issues specific to women, as well as greater geographical reach. By emphasizing such research gaps, opportunities exist to improve the health and well-being situation of women in agriculture through more explicit studies with the intention of developing more effective, targeted solutions.
长期以来，健康与幸福一直被视为农业社区中需要研究的关键问题。尽管已经开展了大量研究来调查农业人口中的因果关系、影响、结果及干预措施，但总体而言，对女性经历的关注严重不足。本系统综述旨在确定相关主题的流行程度，识别研究的目标人群和地理位置，概述该主题领域的方法学途径，并总结现有文献的主要发现和结论。
在阿克西和奥马利开展综述的框架指导下，对1990年至2023年间在全球北方地区发表的、聚焦于从事农业劳动的女性（包括主要农民、农户成员及农场工人）健康与幸福的出版物进行了单一数据库检索。使用在线系统综述工具CADIMA对数据进行整理、主题编码、严格评估及分析。
共有93项研究符合全面综述的纳入标准。大多数研究在美国开展，自20世纪90年代以来，出版物数量稳步增加。其中，68%的研究完全是定量研究，23%完全是定性研究。主要发现表明，女性因与农业工作某些方面相关的特定疾病而面临特别风险，且面临一些会降低幸福感的压力源（包括性别特定问题），但在许多领域证据稀少。在生殖健康、护理责任、寻求帮助和支持方面存在明显的研究空白。女性主要农民和农场工人作为研究对象尤其被忽视。
与更广泛的相关文献相比，有关从事农业劳动女性健康与幸福的研究数量仍然相对较少，显然需要进一步开展研究，尤其关注特定人群、当代气候相关问题、女性特有问题，并扩大地理覆盖范围。通过强调这些研究空白，有可能通过更明确的研究来改善农业领域女性的健康与幸福状况，从而制定更有效、有针对性的解决方案。
