Real-Time COVID-19 Education to Reduce Workplace Risks: Thematic Analysis of a COVID-19 Agricultural Employer Webinar Series

Details

• Personal Author:
  Andrews T ; Jones CG ; Ramirez Sigala Y ; Riden HE
• Description:
  Objectives: California's agricultural industry, an "essential industry" during the COVID-19 pandemic, required support to understand and implement changing public health knowledge and regulations in the workplace. The Western Center for Agricultural Health and Safety (WCAHS) transitioned from traditional in-person trainings with agricultural stakeholders to remote engagement, such as webinars. We aimed to assess the use of real-time webinar trainings and identify agricultural employer concerns about reducing the risk of COVID-19 in the workplace. Methods: We conducted a thematic analysis of webinar chat from WCAHS' "Reduce the Risk of COVID-19 in Your Workplace" monthly webinar series held from December 2020-May 2021. Deidentified chat transcripts were analyzed using a deductive approach to assess participant concerns as they related to prevention and response actions, employer responsibilities, and evolving public health knowledge. Codes were identified by an iterative process using semantic interpretation and summarized into four major themes. Results: Our analysis reveals participants' concerns relating to (1) prevention of COVID-19 in the workplace, (2) response to COVID-19 in the workplace, (3) employer concerns, and (4) evolving, real-time knowledge. Participants shared multiple, overlapping concerns. Many also asked for information tailored to specific scenarios in their workplace. Conclusion: Providing industry-specific guidance and examples in an accessible means is critical for supporting agricultural employers and their highly vulnerable workers. Virtual trainings will likely continue to be an effective means of outreach with the agricultural industry. Future outreach and education efforts should consider virtual engagement and opportunities to document experiences amid changing work environments, social cultures, and learning activities. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Communicable Diseases Farmers Men Occupational Health Preventive Medicine Public Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Staff Development Women Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Agricultural Safety Agricultural Workers Author Keywords: COVID-19 COVID-19 Farm Workers Humans Online Education Preventive Measures Public Health Risk Factors Safety Training Training Work Environment Workers

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• ISSN:
  1059-924X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  116-126
• Volume:
  28
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20066125
• Citation:
  J Agromedicine 2023 Apr; 28(2):116-126
• Contact Point Address:
  Heather E. Riden, Center for Health and the Environment, University of California, Davis, Bldg 3792, Rm 129, 1250 Old Davis Road, Davis, CA, USA
• Email:
  heriden@ucdavis.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2023
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  University of California - Davis
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20010930
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Agromedicine
• End Date:
  20270929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e0b3c8fac1651ab1b73e4e62c09ed61220c60a6c1b4b0aa7763066a7d62832f076a77cf9db3a91bc0817727b2e28640d943aef9925bcc221c925362a64f0f13a
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/212637/cdc_212637_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.36 MB ]