Health and Safety Education, Prevention, Promotion in Agriculture

1. Health and Safety Education, Prevention, Promotion in Agriculture Risto Rautiainen, MS Great Plains Center for Agricultural Health

2. Aims • Review Ag at Risk Goals • Review recent educational programs • Assess program effectiveness • Conclusions • Recommendations

3. Agriculture at Risk Recommendations Legislative • 1.2.4. Provide a National Clearinghouse and health information network Education 2. Develop Clearinghouse; identify, collect, list, store, disseminate info on materials and organizations 3. Develop comprehensive set of materials, curriculum 6. Improvement of educational programs for at-risk populations: • Evaluation of methodologies used to educate at-risk populations, and initiation of new educational programs • Use of set-asides from workers compensation funds for health and safety training • Increase the number of training programs through currently established mechanisms

5. Clearinghouse - Dissemination of Educational Materials Videos Books Booklets Brochures Fact sheets Websites Displays

6. Great Plains Center for Agricultural Health – Clearinghouse Project 1996-99 (Rautiainen et al, 2000) • 4316 Materials identified • 230 Publishers • Format: videos (1,162), booklets/brochures (886), abstracts (704), fact sheets (423), slides (175), books (162), and electronic resources (111). • Topics: Machinery (699), chemicals (566),injuries (364), special populations (309)

8. South Carolina Farm Leaders for Agricultural Safety and Health (FLASH) Program. Harper (1998): • Post-workshop focus groups and interviews • Local community educational programs were carried out; educational materials were distributed to 100 local leaders and educators • No significant change in attitudes or knowledge of farm safety

9. Media Campaigns • Radio • TV • Farm Journals • Newspapers • Local papers • Internet

10. Information Campaign, Iowa, 1992; messages through radio, newspapers, safety publications. Rodriguez (1997) • Baseline and follow-up phone survey of 460 farmers • Awareness: mean score increased from 67.25 to 68.88, p=0.035 • Concern: mean score increased from 78.50 to 79.91, p=0.011 • Behavior: mean score increased from 73.01 to 74.17, p=0.020

11. Educational Events Fairs Trade shows Day camps Meetings Seminars

12. Cass Youth Safety Fair, Cass County Iowa, September 1991. Clarahan (1995) • Ages 8-15 years • Pre- and post-tests administered on the day of event • 27% increase in correct responses to farm safety questions

13. Farm Safety Day Camp, Colorado, 1991. Schmeising (1991) • 4th-6th grades • Pre- and post-tests in participants’ schools • Correct responses to questions on farm safety topics increased, depending on topic, from 58-77% compared to pre-tests

14. Farm safety day camps, Fruita & Montrose, Colorado, summer 1992. Buchan (1993) • Ages 4-17 years • 15-month post-intervention telephone survey of parents • Increase in knowledge acquisition ranged from 45 -100%; behavioral changes ranged from 31- 84.5%

15. Community Family Farm Seminars, Iowa, 1995. Burgus (1997) • Evening programs on farm safety • Post-seminar questionnaires • Participants expressed the intention to adopt behavior changes

16. Farm-Church Partnership Project. Reed (1994) • Farm safety fair in rural church setting • Post questionnaires and informal interviews • Farm walk-about checklist completed after returning home and turned in to local feed store for discount • Over 50% of participating families indicated that they incorporated safety changes on their farms

17. Health and Safety Training

18. Tractor Certification Programs, WI. Wilkinson (1993) • 14-15 years or age • Pre and post surveys of youth and parents • 15% increase in exposure to non ROPS tractors • Carrying extra riders increased slightly • Youth riding as an extra rider decreased • 9% increase in inspections of tractors • Parents reported that their child’s knowledge and behavior improved.

19. Indiana 4-H Tractor Program. Carrabba (2000) • 4-6 two hour educational meetings • Regional and state tractor operator contest • Group of >100 participants studied Participants showed: • More tractor exposure time but not more injuries • More ROPS and seatbelt use • higher scores in starting, driving, obstacle course, dismounting, etc.

20. Safety training for farmer-loggers, Sweden. Jansson (1988) • 15 one-day courses with demonstrations over a 3-week period, took place in the forest • Post-intervention survey of participants and telephone survey of controls • 71% reported a change in working methods • Use of protective leg guards increased from 65% to 90%; 40% of controls used them • Use of protective boots changed from 65% to 85%; 40% of controls used them

21. Health and Safety Networks • Membership • Information • Other services

22. Saskatchewan agricultural health and safety network. Hagel et al (1999) • Established 1988 • 21,500 members, 38% of SK farmers • $10 CAD annual fee • Educational materials, events, consultation, seminars, health screenings, website • Strong participation demonstrates need

23. Farm Hazard Identification Programs

24. Farm Safety Walkabout, Iowa. Hawk (1995) • Conducted 1990-91 • Groups: extension/FFA, health professional, and farm families on their own • Pre-test- post-test • Each group had significant change in behavior scores (p<0.001) • Having a professional help administer the program on the farm improved effectiveness

25. Agricultural Safety and Health Best Management Practices Manual (BMP). Legault and Murphy (2000) • Hazard audits on the farm, standard assessment method • Baseline and post intervention audits on 150 PA farms • 3 groups; BMP, education, control • BMPM group reduced hazards most

26. Comprehensive Occupational Health Service Programs

27. Certified Safe Farm Program, Iowa, Nebraska. Donham et al. (2000) • Health Screening, Education, On-farm safety review, Rebate ($200/year) • >125 intervention, >125 control farms • Follow-up of health outcomes and exposures Preliminary results: • Some reductions in self reported numbers of health outcomes and serious injuries • Improvements in farm safety review scores • Reductions in dust, gas, noise exposures

28. Reindeer husbandry safety, Finland. Pekkarinen (1992) • Conducted in Lapland, 1985-87 • Questionnaire identified high risk behaviors; herders were educated at health exams and by letter about 34 safety recommendations • Pre/post questionnaires • Herders implemented an average of 5.8 measures per herder in 1987 • Injury incidence decreased from 21 injuries/1000 work days in 1985 to 12/1000 work days in 1987

29. West Jutland Study, Denmark. Carstensen (1998) • Randomized intervention of 200 farms • Intervention group had a farm inspection and one-day safety course • Injury surveillance and behavior checks • Intervention: reduction from 33.4 to 20.1 injuries per 100,000 work hours (p<0.05); improvement in behaviors for 66 work routines • Control: no reduction in injury incidence, no improvement in behaviors

30. National model for farmer’s occupational health services, Finland. Husman (1990) • Model evaluation study 1979-88 • Farm visit or interview, recommendations, education, clinical physical exam, follow-up every two years • Pre/post intervention survey of participants and controls • Increase in knowledge and use of PPE • No improvement in working conditions, e.g. changes in engineering and work practices

31. Conclusions • Universities, Extension, Ag Centers, and national organizations have Clearinghouse functions but no single major clearinghouse exists • Materials were developed in the early 1990’s; many are available through NIOSH/NASD • Many materials were duplicative and are currently in need of update. • Education is necessary but education alone is not adequate – works well as part of comprehensive programs • Education relies on repeating the message and constantly developing new approaches

32. Conclusions (Cont.) • Most educational program evaluation studies showed some degree of success. • Evaluation methods were limited to pre/post test design. • Most studies measure self reported knowledge, attitude or behaviors – not injuries or illnesses • Knowledge -> attitude -> behavior -> reduced injuries/illnesses?

33. Agriculture at Risk Recommendations Legislative • 1.2.4. Provide a National Clearinghouse and health information network B- Education 2. Develop Clearinghouse; identify, collect, list, store, disseminate info on materials and organizations B- 3. Develop comprehensive set of materials, curriculum C 6. Improvement of educational programs for at-risk populations: • Evaluation of methodologies used to educate at-risk populations, and initiation of new educational programs C • Use of set-asides from worker compensation funds for health and safety training F • Increase the number of training programs through currently established mechanisms B-

34. Recommendations • Develop a National Action Plan for Health and Safety Education • Develop a National Clearinghouse for Agricultural Health and Safety Resources • Enhance National and State information dissemination networks for farmers • Evaluate model educational and informational programs and use sound evaluation methods to assess the effectiveness