Culturally relevant model program to prevent and reduce agricultural injuries

Details

• Personal Author:
  Benally J ; Hathorn G ; Helitzer DL ; Ortega C
• Description:
  Limited research has explored pesticide injury prevention among American Indian farmers. In a five-year agricultural intervention, a university-community partnership, including the University of New Mexico School of Medicine, New Mexico State University, Shiprock Area Cooperative Extension Service, and Navajo Nation communities, used a culturally relevant model to introduce and maintain safe use of integrated pest management techniques. We applied the Diffusion of Innovations theory and community-based approaches to tailor health promotion strategies for our intervention. In a longitudinal study with repeated measures, we trained six "model farmers" to be crop management experts in pesticide safety, application, and control. Subsequently, these model farmers worked with 120 farm families randomized into two groups: intervention (Group 1) and delayed intervention (Group 2). Measurements included a walk-through analysis, test of knowledge and attitudes, and yield analysis. Both groups demonstrated improvements in pesticide storage behaviors after training. Test scores regarding safety practices improved significantly: from 57.3 to 72.4 for Group 1 and from 52.6 to 76.3 for Group 2. Group 1 maintained their knowledge and safety practices after the intervention. Attitudes about pesticides and communication of viewpoints changed across the study years. With pesticides and fertilizer, the number of corn ears increased by 56.3% and yield (kg m(-2)) of alfalfa increased by 41.2%. The study combined traditional farming practices with culturally relevant approaches and behavior change theory to affect knowledge, safety practices, attitudes, communication channels, and crop yield. Storage behaviors, use of pesticides and safety and application equipment, and safety practice knowledge changed significantly, as did attitudes about social networking, social support, and the compatibility and relative advantage of pesticides for farms. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Farmers Insecticides Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: American Indian Farms CBPR Community-based Participatory Research Community Based Diffusion Of Innovations Injury Prevention Intervention Effectiveness Long Term Study Pesticides Pesticides And Agricultural Chemicals Safety Practices

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• ISSN:
  1074-7583
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  New Mexico ; OSHA Region 6 ; Texas
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  175-198
• Volume:
  20
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20045013
• Citation:
  J Agric Saf Health 2014 Jul; 20(3):175-198
• Contact Point Address:
  Deborah L. Helitzer, MSC09-4050, School of Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001
• Email:
  Helitzer@salud.unm.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  University of Texas Health Center at Tyler
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20010930
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health
• End Date:
  20270929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:af74b33867d3bebc917d4ad7bdce1fee66ccc896b111391149a30686de6f74b4b477c28f99b706ade9c34ebf52d478ffe72b8508e82f6b46493990df38070ad5
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/200569/cdc_200569_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 509.88 KB ]