Moving Social Work Norms via Theater for Senior Farmers

Details

• Personal Author:
  Claunch DT ; Reed DB
• Description:
  Problem: Senior farmers have a 2.6-fold risk of fatal injury compared to their younger counterparts. Usual educational interventions have resulted in limited success in reducing injury. Method: An innovative strategy, didactic readers theater, was piloted. Farmers' stories provided the foundation for the scripts. The approach incorporated adult learning strategies based on Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior. The intervention was marketed as a "dinner theater" to farm couples. Three short socio-novels (plays) were presented by local farmers who served as actors. Following each play participants completed a reaction form and participated in a short discussion about the play's content. One week later a phone survey was completed that tapped further reaction to the content and behavior changes. Results: Thirty-three farm household individuals (including 16 couples) participated. Participants expressed favorable reaction to the intervention. Within one week post intervention, 42% had made safety changes and 67% were "thinking about/intending" to make changes. Discussion: The use of real stories contributed to the success of this intervention. Farmers identified with the stories and began to think and talk about the impact that aging exerts on their health and safety. Interaction among the group identified work modifications which empowered the farmers to make positive changes in their own work behavior. Summary: Educational interventions with farmers have met with limited success in reducing farm-related injuries. Moreover, few interventions have utilized the family unit. This novel program, incorporating local organizations and using limited financial resources, resulted in swift behavior changes. Practical applications: Total Worker Health includes not only the worker, but also the family. Interventions that include family units should be considered when possible. This format is effective, easily adapted to local issues, can be delivered using existing infrastructure, and is acceptable to the farm community. It is currently being tested on a larger scale. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aging Agriculture Behavior Education Family Farmers Occupational Health Safety Workplace
• Keywords:
  Age Groups Agricultural Agricultural Safety Agricultural Workers Author Keywords: Agriculture Community Families Farm Workers Health Behavior Health Protection Injuries Injury Prevention Intervention Intervention Effectiveness Protective Measures Safety Measures Statistical Analysis Work Environment Worker Health Workers Worker Safety

  More +
• ISSN:
  0022-4375
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Kentucky ; OSHA Region 4
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  17-20
• Volume:
  60
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20053679
• Citation:
  J Safety Res 2017 Feb; 60:17-20
• Email:
  dbreed01@uky.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2017
• Performing Organization:
  University of Kentucky, Lexington
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20100801
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Safety Research
• End Date:
  20130731
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:9c509f94b7e3f21c08042510c18c458412ee761c6f419a819f029262a329ec22a1c97c7b27985170dd73b41351269eee15f00bcbb2f8b6a236dcdd7e0c5b83a7
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/216393/cdc_216393_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 216.25 KB ]