Project Summary

Young agricultural workers are at increased risk for occupational injuries. Reports of injury rates for youth working in agriculture range from 20.8 – 28.1/100,000 FTE and annual costs associated with non-fatal injuries have been estimated to be one billion dollars. Youth working in agriculture are able to work at younger ages and in more hazardous jobs than youth in other industries. Fatigue, substance use, and distracted behaviors are common risk factors that can impact safety, health and performance both on and off the job. Interventions directed towards supervisors and workplace policies can play a key role in reducing injuries and promoting health. Theory-driven workplace interventions that incorporate health promotion with health protection and address multiple levels of influence are needed. This type of integrated approach combines both the prevention of workplace injuries (health protection) and the promotion of healthy behaviors, consistent with the NIOSH Total Worker Health™ Program. The goal of this project is to develop, evaluate, and disseminate an online training for supervisors of young agricultural workers. By combining existing safety guidelines (i.e., Safety Guidelines for Hired Adolescent Farm Workers), model workplace policies (e.g., Model Policy: Youth Employment in Agriculture), and health promotion, the proposed intervention will address two levels of the Social Ecological Model: interpersonal and the workplace. Utilizing the Extended Parallel Process Model, the approach is to change perceptions of threat and efficacy in supervisors of young agricultural workers in order to influence supervisors’ behaviors and implement workplace policies. A randomized-control trial in two regions will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the online intervention in both Spanish and English. Working with the National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety, the training will be disseminated to employers and supervisors of agricultural youth.

Relevance

Youth who work in agriculture are at increased risk for occupational injuries. Risk-taking behaviors are common in youth; even if they occur off the job, they can impact safety on the job. The goal of this project is to develop, evaluate, and disseminate an online training for supervisors of young agricultural workers that addresses health protection, health promotion, and workplace policies to protect young workers.