Ward Jeanne M, Blosnich John R, Dean-Witt Cheryl
Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
J Agromedicine. 2025 Jan;30(1):153-164. doi: 10.1080/1059924X.2024.2418818. Epub 2024 Oct 23.
Challenge coins have a history in the military as symbolic tokens of belonging and appreciation. Members of some agricultural communities have recently expressed interest in using a challenge coin as a caring support tool to improve mental health among farmers. The objective of this analysis is to clarify the meaning and use of a challenge coin as an upstream suicide prevention caring support tool in agricultural communities.
A systematic search was performed in Google Scholar, PsycInfo, Sociological Abstracts, Web of Science, and PubMed following PRISMA guidelines, identifying literature available through October 2023. Thirty-five articles were included and analyzed using Rodger's Evolutionary Method for Concept Analysis.
The attributes of challenge coins include its material presence (i.e. a medallion with official insignia) and its presentation as a recognition for contributions to society and signifying belonging to a group. The antecedents of the challenge coin were achievement, rank, or proficiency related to a role in public duty and membership in an occupational group facing unique challenges. The consequences were identified as improved morale and pride and fostering belongingness, connectedness, and community. These consequences can lead to the challenge coin serving as a cue for behavior change.
This concept analysis provides additional understanding of a challenge coin when used as a caring support tool, particularly in agricultural communities. The challenge coin has historically been used in a military or first responder context, but it could be expanded to other service-oriented occupations such as farming.
Using a challenge coin for a mental health promotion intervention requires more community-based research to understand its efficacy in agricultural contexts. With the concept of a challenge coin clarified, a next step would be scientific efforts among mental health practitioners and industry leaders to support further development and testing of the challenge coin as a suicide prevention and caring support tool that fosters belongingness and appreciation within agriculture.
挑战币在军队中有着作为归属感和赞赏象征的历史。一些农业社区的成员最近表示有兴趣将挑战币用作一种关怀支持工具，以改善农民的心理健康。本分析的目的是阐明挑战币作为农业社区上游自杀预防关怀支持工具的意义和用途。
按照PRISMA指南在谷歌学术、PsycInfo、社会学文摘、科学网和PubMed中进行系统检索，识别截至2023年10月可用的文献。纳入35篇文章，并使用罗杰概念分析进化法进行分析。
挑战币的属性包括其物质存在（即带有官方徽章的奖章）以及作为对社会贡献的认可和表示属于某个群体的呈现方式。挑战币的前身是与公职角色中的成就、等级或熟练程度以及面临独特挑战的职业群体成员身份相关的。其后果被确定为士气和自豪感的提升以及促进归属感、联系感和社区感。这些后果可导致挑战币成为行为改变的提示。
这一概念分析提供了对挑战币作为关怀支持工具，特别是在农业社区中使用时的更多理解。挑战币历史上一直用于军事或急救人员背景，但它可以扩展到其他以服务为导向的职业，如农业。
将挑战币用于心理健康促进干预需要更多基于社区的研究，以了解其在农业环境中的效果。随着挑战币概念的明确，下一步将是心理健康从业者和行业领导者开展科学努力，以支持将挑战币进一步开发和测试为一种自杀预防和关怀支持工具，在农业领域促进归属感和赞赏。
