A regional meeting of the sentinel networks of the MSA (Social Agricultural Mutuality) took place yesterday in Loudéac. The opportunity to exchange experiences and tracking tools.
The MSA (social protection scheme for agricultural professions) had old studies indicating a prevalence of suicidal risk among farmers in Brittany, and particularly in Central Brittany. "In 2011, Bruno Le Maire, then Minister of Agriculture, commissioned the MSAs for the implementation of a national prevention plan , " says Philippe Meyer, the director general of the MSA Armorique (Finistère Côtes- d'Armor), a pioneer of the sentinel network, which she set up in 2013.
An agreement with Public Health France has provided new statistical insights on excess mortality by suicide, based on studies of farmers (2007-2011) and agricultural employees (2007 to 2013). "The most affected, but not exclusively, are smallholders (less than 50 ha), men aged 45 to 65 who work alone (not in society), and those who have only one activity. production " , explains Véronique Maeght-Lenormand, national medical adviser. Four regions emerge from the studies: Brittany, Hauts-de-France, Bourgogne Franche-Comté and Auvergne Rhône-Alpes.
Who are the sentinels?
The sentry is a watchman, a volunteer who remains anonymous. He is not a caregiver, although he can help someone to make the necessary phone call. Anchored in the territory, he is trained in the detection of signs, listening and then referral to psychosocial risk professionals and carers. There are today in Brittany, 124 sentinels trained in the technique of listening and identifying risks. They are elected representatives of the MSA, professionals from the agricultural world, nurses, ambulance attendants, all those who circulate on the rural territory and are able to enter the operators suffering. "This phenomenon of identification is essential. We talk because we are alike, because we live the same things, " says Pierre Grandgenèvre, psychiatrist Lille University Hospital that intervenes during this day. "Because all the difficulty is the stigma of mental illness, especially depression, which complicates access to care."
What tools are available?
Occupational physicians, social workers, contribution and pension services ... The MSA professionals, organized in watch cells are attentive to the situations identified. A national telephone line, "Agriécoute", also exists since 2014. It operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Some of the listeners are professionals, psychologists. A dematerialized support is possible, up to four appointments, by phone or on the Internet. "It is the personal problems that come up most often, first those of the sentimental life, then the feeling of loneliness and isolation, finally the mental overload of caregivers. Then comes the professional aspect, and especially the overwork of farmers, " says Véronique Maeght-Lenormand.
Practice: Agri'écoute line: 09 69 39 29 19