Native American Safety and Health

This four-year project will use community-based participatory research (CBPR) to assess and improve agricultural occupational safety and health in and around a Native American reservation. The project aligns with NORA strategic goals regarding injury surveillance, vulnerable populations, outreach, and stakeholder partnerships.

In 2010, the Southeast Center dialogued with the Indian Health Service (IHS), the United South and Eastern Tribes (USET), and the Deep South ERC to explore opportunities to improve occupational safety and health among tribally owned and/or operated agricultural production facilities in our region and, eventually, beyond. Tribal operations in the Southeast and elsewhere may include beef cattle, timber and other crops, as well as family farming by both native and non-native farmers. From the preparatory dialogue emerged six specific aims for this project:

  1. Partner with tribe elders, leaders, and community members, and organizations that provide them with services, to develop a systematic plan for assessing agricultural safety and health needs within a five-mile radius of the selected reservation (needs assessment).
  2. Partner with elders, leaders and community members to review farm policies and work organization factors as they may affect farm worker safety and health.
  3. Share the technical expertise of agricultural engineers and farm safety specialists associated with the Southeast Center in a systematic assessment of machinery, equipment, and production techniques.
  4. Assess the knowledge and skills of local EMS providers and clinic staff regarding traumatic injuries and illness associated with production agriculture – including zoonoses, use of large machinery, and farm rescue techniques – and establish protocols for improved tracking of "close calls" and non-fatal injuries, as these are important risk-hazard indicators.
  5. Partner with tribe elders, leaders and community members, and organizations that provide them with services, to develop and implement strategies for reducing and/or eliminating farm hazards over the next four years.
  6. Partner with the elders, leaders and community members to develop a sustainability plan for agricultural occupational safety and health at the community level.

The Indian Health Services office, Nashville, reviewed the original proposed protocol. Project phase 1 was approved under University of Kentucky IRB protocol 12-0532-P4S.

Principal Investigator: Chike Anyaegbunam, PhD Professor, School of Journalism and Telecommunications, College of Communication and Information Director, Dissemination and Implementation Sciences Consortium (DISC) 310F Lucille Little Fine Arts Library & Learning Center University of Kentucky Lexington, KY 40506 Phone: 859-257-7820. Email canya2@uky.edu