Reaching Teen Farm Workers with Health and Safety Information: An Evaluation of a High School ESL Curriculum

Details

• Personal Author:
  Baker R ; Bush D ; Meyers J ; Strochlic R ; Teran S
• Description:
  While childhood agricultural injury has long been recognized as an important public health issue, most research has focused on family farms and there have not been many interventions targeting hired youth. This study evaluated the impact of a high school English as a Second Language (ESL) curriculum, designed to provide teen agricultural workers with the knowledge and tools to protect their health and safety in the fields. Using a quasi-experimental design, the research consisted of two intervention groups and a comparison group, and included over 2,000 students from communities that lead California in agricultural production. The research findings revealed that the curriculum had significant impact in terms of increases in knowledge and attitudes, and nearly half of those interviewed after a summer of working in the fields reported implementing new behaviors to protect their health and safety. The curriculum also had extended effects in the broader community, as the majority of students reported sharing the new information with others. The study found that a school-based ESL curriculum is an effective intervention to reach and educate teen farm workers and that ESL classes can serve as a much-needed access point for young farm workers. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Adolescent Agriculture Behavior Farmers Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Adolescents Agricultural Industry Author Keywords: Adolescent Worker Children Community Based ESL Curriculum Farm Worker Farm Workers Intervention Effectiveness Latino Occupational Health Occupational Safety Programs Teenagers Young Workers

  More +
• ISSN:
  1074-7583
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• 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:
  147-162
• Volume:
  14
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20056699
• Citation:
  J Agric Saf Health 2008 May; 14(2):147-162
• Contact Point Address:
  Suzanne Teran, Labor Occupational Health Program, University of California, 2223 Fulton St., 4th Floor, Berkeley, CA 94720-5120
• Email:
  steran@berkeley.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2008
• Performing Organization:
  University of California, Berkeley
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20000930
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health
• End Date:
  20040929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:220eb3ec23519bb195e01c7473ea95ec296d5e51e3543fd79dce1fd0c388a4623007eccb64cf6212cf9476153624b06c497e06311247b5c3409f88b7c64c1516
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/214251/cdc_214251_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 173.19 KB ]