Loneliness, social isolation and mental health in farming communities: An analysis of social and cultural factors
Loneliness and Social Isolation in Mental Health Network (funded by UKRI)
Profile
![Photo of Dr Rebecca Wheeler](http://sociology.exeter.ac.uk/includes/images/staff/rebeccawheeler.jpg)
Dr Rebecca Wheeler
Senior Research Fellow
3170
01392 723170
Lazenby House 1.03
Rebecca Wheeler is a Senior Research Fellow in the Centre for Rural Policy Research (CRPR). Her current research interests include:
- Farmer attitudes, behaviour and decision-making in relation to the environment, including agri-environment schemes, landscape-scale management and adaptation to climate change.
- Health and wellbeing in the agricultural community
- Public engagement with farming and nature; farmer-community relationships
- Social and cultural geographies of place and landscape, including heritage, temporality and the oral histories of everyday landscapes
Research group links
Research interests
My research covers a range of issues within the broad area of rural social science. My current interests include:
- Farmer attitudes, behaviour and decision-making in relation to the environment, including agri-environment schemes, landscape-scale management and adaptation to climate change.
- Health and wellbeing in the agricultural community
- Public engagement with farming and nature; farmer-community relationships
- Social and cultural geographies of place and landscape, including heritage, temporality and the oral histories of everyday landscapes
Since joining the CRPR, I have been involved in a number of large research projects, including: Defra's Sustainable Intensification Research Platform (SIP) (which investigated the potential for intensifying agricultural land management to produce more food whilst also improving environmental management); an evaluation of the Higher Level Stewardship Scheme for Natural England; and the Hampshire Avon Demonstration Test Catchment project (looking at farmer attitudes and practices around diffuse water pollution.
Research supervision
I am currently supervising the following PhD researchers:
Hannah Mortimer: Feeding beef cattle: Regenerative practices, perceptions and performances of the 'good farmer' in Devon, England.
Skylar Collins: Understanding risk, safety and mental health challenges in UK small-scale fisheries
Other information
Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
Member of the Royal Geographical Society (RGS-IBG)
Member of the European Society for Rural Sociology (ESRS)
Biography
I have a broad background in rural geography and environmental sustainability and completed my PhD, titled 'Experiences of Place and Change in Rural Landscapes: Three English case studies', in May 2015 (Plymouth University). This explored rural residents' experiences of, and attitudes towards, place-based changes - and the implications of these for processes of identity and place attachment - with a particular focus on existing wind farms.
Prior to my postgraduate studies, I worked as Climate SouthWest Project Officer for the Environment Agency, where I was involved in regional efforts to raise awareness of the impacts of climate change and encourage adaptation action. I also hold an MSc in Sustainable Environmental Management (Plymouth University) and a BSocSci in Social Anthropology (University of Manchester).