Short Communication
Health, wellbeing and safety among farmers in small rural areas of Indonesia – a pilot study
AUTHORS
Erma Sulistyaningsih1 PhD, Senior Lecturer 
Susan A Brumby2,3 PhD, Senior Researcher National Centre for Farmer Health *
AFFILIATIONS
1 Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Jember, Jember, Indonesia
2 National Centre for Farmer Health, Western District Health Service, Hamilton, Australia
3 School of Medicine, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, Vic., Australia
ACCEPTED: 23 June 2025
Early Abstract:
Introduction: Agriculture is Indonesia’s largest sector and largest employer with 10.5% (40.9M) of the population working in agriculture, forestry or fishing. However, little is known about agricultural workers health status, risk factors for non-communicable diseases, such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, respiratory diseases, diabetes, and wellbeing. This study aimed to undertake a pilot to assess health status, behavioural risk factors, wellbeing and safety among farmers in Indonesia.
Methods: Data were collected from participants (N=51) in a small rural area of East Java, Indonesia. Trained medical students, supervised by doctors, conducted assessments including anthropometric measurements, overall health status, lifestyle factors, and wellbeing using the translated Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10). Data analyses were performed using SPSS version 28.0 statistical software (IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Armonk, NY) and presented descriptively.
Results: The mean age of farmers is 39.5 years with the majority having normal BMI (64.7%). Most farmers reported good health status (62.7%), good hearing (98%), and good vision (88.2%). Overall health is not interfered with their farm activities (76.5%). Seventy–six (76%) per cent were active smokers, and 88.2% have low diabetes risk based on FINDRISC-BI and low psychological distress (76.5%) using K10-Indonesian adopted scale. All participants used agrichemicals and use of appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) was lacking.
Conclusions: Farmers in this pilot study generally reported good health status, though smoking and use of and exposure to agricultural chemicals were highly prevalent. Although a pilot study, the findings highlight the need for further studies on the health, wellbeing and safety of farmers to engage the agricultural community and foster collaboration between local health services, farmers groups and students.
Keywords: chronic disease, farming, health status, Indonesia, male, smoking, wellbeing.