Partnering with Stakeholders for Prevention
The Stakeholders Project aimed to increase dialogue among individuals and groups involved in agricultural production, labor, business, health and human services, policy, and research. The focus was on maintaining and improving the health and safety status of persons most at risk for agriculture-related illness and injury. Special populations of interest include farm children, women, older farmers, and full-time and part-time migrant and seasonal farm workers and their family members. The project involved initiating and maintaining contact with members of these groups. The ensuing partnerships increased awareness of the needs of target populations and resources available to address those needs. A key aim of the project was to combine the experiential knowledge and values of farm populations with the technical and scientific knowledge and skills of health care providers, engineers, academic researchers and other professionals. These aims emerged from previously well-established community-based prevention theory and research. From 2001-2006, Stakeholder project activities were supported by funding from CDC/NIOSH, the Kentucky Department of Vocational Rehabilitation, and USDA. Accomplishments include but are not limited to the following:
- Leadership in fulfilling the aims of the 2004 National Agricultural Tractor Safety Initiative, in particular through two key projects: Designing Community-based Social Marketing Programs for Tractor Safety and Costs of Tractor Operator Injuries from Overturns and Highway Collisions.
- Cultivation of working partnerships among county health departments, local health care providers, and community organizations to improve access to health services among Hispanic farm workers and their families. See, especially Coalitions to Improve Access to Health Care among Latinos in Rural Kentucky and Tennessee (details under Completed Projects).
- Consultation on the use, development, and evaluation of educational materials and methods aimed at preventing farming-related injuries and illnesses: e.g., the Kentucky ROPS Notebook. For example, Dr. Henry Cole provided information on narrative simulations and their effectiveness in promoting farm safety to Kay L. Moyer, a safety nurse educator for the Pennsylvania State University Cooperative Extension Service. Nurse Moyer and her colleagues used the materials in a pilot study that involved 15 schools in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, as well as two families and two schools in Canada. More than 462 children and 23 teachers participated in the pilot study and completed evaluations. The study has yielded a field-tested and engaging farm safety instructional tool for younger children, Farm Safety Stories, available from the Lancaster County Cooperative Extension Service (Moyer).
For more information contact: Henry P. Cole, EdD, Professor of Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health, Emeritus Professor of Educational Psychology, University of Kentucky Southeast Center for Agricultural Health and Injury Prevention, Suite 102, 1141 Red Mile Road Lexington, Kentucky 40504-9842 Phone: (859) 323-6836