Farmers are being encouraged to think twice before turning to ‘Dr Google’, or increasingly artificial intelligence (AI), when they have a health concern.

The advice comes as Fit Farmers prepares to officially launch its newly customised health app for Co. Leitrim.

"Putting trusted information in farmers' pockets" is the thinking that has helped shape the Fit Farmers app, which will be unveiled in Co. Leitrim at Mohill Library on Thursday, August 27.

Founder of the Fit Farmers initiative, nurse Laura Tully said: "For many of us, reaching for the phone has become almost automatic when something doesn't feel right - a persistent pain, a symptom we don't recognise or something that has been niggling away.

"Within seconds, we can have pages of Google results or an AI generated answer telling us what it might be."

Tully stressed that the problem is "knowing what to trust".

She said: "I believe the answer isn't to tell farmers to stop using technology.

Instead, she wants to make it easier to find reliable health information and to recognise when it is time to put down the phone and speak to a health professional.

“I think we've all used Google at some stage when we've had a health concern, and AI is adding another layer to that now.

“It can be useful for general information, but there is a danger when we start using it to diagnose ourselves or, perhaps more importantly, to reassure ourselves that something is nothing to worry about," she contended.

Tully also wants farmers to question what they find online.

She said: “Ask yourself where the information has come from. Can I trust the source? Is somebody trying to sell me something? And am I using this information instead of getting something checked?

“Google and AI aren't going anywhere and technology can be a fantastic tool for helping us understand our health. But your phone can't examine you and it doesn't know your full story.

“Use technology to become better informed, but don't let it talk you out of getting something checked."

Fit Farmers

Through Fit Farmers, Tully has worked directly with farmers on health and wellbeing since establishing the programme in 2019.

“Farmers are incredibly tuned in to what is happening around the farm. They'll spot when an animal isn't thriving and notice quickly when something isn't quite right.

“If you already want to believe something is nothing serious, it can be very easy to find an answer online that gives you another reason to leave it.

"The opposite can happen too, with an online search turning a relatively minor symptom into something frightening," the Fit Farmers founder said.

What we need, she contended, is a middle ground - good, reliable information that helps us understand our health better, without pretending that an app or search engine can replace a healthcare professional.

The idea for the Fit Farmer app came from farmers themselves who repeatedly asked for a straightforward, one-stop-shop where they could find reliable health and wellbeing information, Tully said.

The app is free, requires no sign up and can be accessed offline.

Leitrim app

The Leitrim version of the Fit Farmers app has been specially customised for the county, commissioned by Leitrim Local Community Development Committee (LCDC) and Leitrim County Council through the Healthy Ireland Fund, supported by the Department of Health.

The customised app will provide farmers and farm families with health and wellbeing information alongside signposting to relevant local supports and services.

Tully said: “Farmers told us they wanted something they could have on their phone, dip into when they had a few minutes and know they were accessing information from reliable sources.

"It's there to help farmers become better informed about their health and hopefully prompt action when action is needed.”

The real value of the app will be in what farmers do with the information, she said.

“We're not expecting farmers to suddenly spend hours thinking about their health.

"It might be five minutes over a cup of tea, checking something they've been wondering about or finding out where to go for support.

“If that leads to someone checking their blood pressure, booking an appointment, getting more active or simply paying a bit more attention to their own health, then the app is doing what we hoped it would do," she said.

The Mohill launch will also hear from Leitrim farmers who have already completed Fit Farmers' programmes.

Padraig Jones, who completed Fit Farmers in Mohill in 2025, and Mícheál Clancy, who took part in the programme in Cloone, will share their experiences and some of the changes they have made and sustained since participating.

In addition, former Leitrim GAA Connacht Championship winning goalkeeper, two-time cancer survivor, author of Born to Save, and men's health advocate Martin McHugh will share his personal health journey and speak about the importance of being proactive about health.

For the Fit Farmers' founder, hearing directly from farmers themselves is an important part of the evening.

“When another farmer tells you what they changed and what they've managed to keep doing, that can be far more powerful than somebody simply telling you that you should look after yourself," she said.

The free event at Mohill Library on Thursday, August 27, is open to farmers, farm families and the wider rural community.

It will include a live demonstration of the app, personal stories from Fit Farmers' participants, information on local health and wellbeing supports and details of upcoming Fit Farmers activity in Leitrim.

Further information on Fit Farmers and the app is available on the Fit Farmers website.