The Southwest Center for Agricultural Health, Injury Prevention and Education

Details

• Personal Author:
  Casanova V ; Moore K
• Description:
  Specific Aim # 1: Support the ability of the Center cores and projects to function and achieve their objectives. Each year of the six-year cycle, we convened a virtual board meeting in the fall and an in-person meeting in the spring. When the pandemic prevented travel, we convened a virtual meeting in lieu of the in-person meeting. Planning and Evaluation (P&E) Core staff-maintained IRB approvals for projects and cores. These were submitted to NIOSH. Accounts were reconciled monthly. Year-end balances were determined for internal accounts and external subcontracts. Carryover budgets were built internally for the Cores and collected from subcontractors. Subcontracts were amended each year for new awards and carryover requests. The Internal Advisory Committee (IAC) convened quarterly throughout the cycle. Center leaders updated the IAC on current activities and sought recommendations for overcoming challenges. Minutes are kept on a secure server. The Center Director and key center leaders attended the NIOSH Center Directors' meeting each February. The SW Ag Center staff and faculty convened every two weeks to discuss progress on current projects and future opportunities. Meeting minutes are kept on file for future reference. The Center's leadership team participated in monthly Ag Center Directors' calls. Dr. Levin participated on the Advisory Boards for the High Plains Intermountain Center for Agricultural Health and Safety and the Heartland Center for Occupational Health and Safety ERC in Iowa. Dr. Levin and Amanda actively participated in the National Tractor Safety Coalition (NTSC) and the National ROPS Rebate Program, both led by the Northeast Center for Occupational Health and Safety. Dr. Levin, Amanda Wickman and Shelbie Lambert have participated in regular conference calls to develop a plan to address tractor safety in Public Health Region 6. Dr. Levin, Amanda Wickman and Vanessa Casanova participated in PFD (Personal Floatation Device) Working Groups. Dr. Levin actively served on the advisory board for Ann Carruth's project, Thermal Load on PFD Use. Center staff were active members on the NORA Ag, Forestry and Fishing subsector councils. Specific Aim # 2: Identify, characterize, and prioritize the emerging AFF issues in the region. Center staff worked with NIOSH personnel and leadership from other Ag Centers to create COVID-19 guidance for farmworkers, a dedicated website, videos, and a social media campaign. A safety article on the proper use of portable power generators was created and distributed immediately after Hurricane Laura. Drs. Kevin Moore and Alex Nguyen represented the Ag Center on a national AgriSafe webinar to describe the risks associated with portable power generators and the proper way to use them in emergency situations. Chainsaw safety information was circulated after large storms due to the uptick in chainsaw injuries while performing storm clean-up. SW Ag Center personnel have significantly contributed to the development of an agricultural/rural focused training for mental health crisis hotline staff. The training is intended to better prepare hotline staff to address the specific mental health needs of agricultural workers and rural residents. Two outreach mini grants focused on mental health and stress in agricultural communities, a recognized emerging issue. Two capstone projects focused on commercial shrimp fishing safety and crew overboard recovery. Specific Aim # 3: Determine the efficacy of the SW Ag Center in achieving its goals, utilizing stakeholder input, addressing emerging issues, conducting research, and integrating outreach activities. The evaluation demonstrated the use of COM-B Theory of Change Contribution Analysis and supports such analyses as being especially effective in complex systems with diverse stakeholders and multiple projects, with partners working toward the same outcome over time. The evaluation revealed divergent needs and feasible solutions to form evidence-based connections to build sustainable bridges to accomplish NIOSH and SW Ag Center objectives. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Communicable Diseases Hunting Mental Health Nervous System Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Agricultural Centers Agricultural Workers COVID-19 Fishing Industry Information Dissemination Mental Health Safety Research Stress Tractors
• Series:
  Grant Final Reports
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Final Cooperative Agreement Report
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 6 ; Texas
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  OEP - Office of Extramural Programs
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-91
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20070044
• Citation:
  Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, U54-OH-007541, 2022 Dec; :1-91
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2023
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  University of Texas Health Center at Tyler
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20010930
• Source Full Name:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• End Date:
  20270929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c6fbfbe748e8f1db9c1364628a19a75a89bfe311c1da1c3bc01624f6e9c3466da4b8c0d5f44cb4d2612805c3c6393f37f0b95edff20ee65050c32e12256c745e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/219271/cdc_219271_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.47 MB ]