High Plains Intermountain Center for Agricultural Health and Safety (HICAHS)

Details

• Personal Author:
  Reynolds SJ
• Description:
  Since 1991, HICAHS has served the agriculture, forestry, and fishing population of Public Health Service (PHS) Region VIII, including six states (Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming) and 33 tribal nations. Our work extends nationally and internationally with Outreach and Research Core activities in states including Idaho, New Mexico, Nebraska, and Texas because of our close collaborative relationships with partners in these states and because of our leadership in dairy worker health and safety. During the 2016 to 2022 cycle, we brought together an internationally recognized leadership team, outstanding young investigators, and a well-developed regional partnership network to address the promotion of health and reduction of work hazards among the high-risk industries of agriculture and forestry in the Federal Public Health Region VIII. Our accomplishments were grounded in engaging and listening to our stakeholders and responding to their needs with sound and relevant research and outreach efforts. We have fostered a One Health approach, which optimizes the health of people, animals, and the environment with the rapidly expanding dairy industry in our region. We have developed a successful model for advancing research to practice (r2p) - moving from etiological research to assessment of efficacy in practice, toward adoption and implementation. Two examples of this include the HICAHS response to COVID-19 and our efforts in the dairy industry. COVID-19 Response. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the HICAHS team collaborated with partners nationwide to respond and provide resources to support agricultural workers. We collaborated with the other US Centers for Agricultural Safety and Health to draft the CDC and Department of Labor's COVID-19 Interim Guidance for the agricultural sector. We partnered with local Extension and commodity groups to help interpret that guidance and provide actionable recommendations. We lent support to State Departments of Agriculture as they advocated for increased access to personal protective equipment. We revised our recommendations for preventing exposure to wildfire smoke to help producers protect their families and employees from a dual threat: COVID-19 and smoke. While the pandemic limited our field research and in-person outreach efforts during the last 2 years of the grant cycle, the HICAHS team found new ways to support agricultural workers and rural populations. Several HICAHS researchers used their expertise to support new projects responding to COVID-19. The outreach core used digital avenues to connect and build new partnerships. HICAHS aimed to leverage our three small grant programs to support agricultural businesses and workers in their on-going response to COVID-19. Through targeted recruitment, we funded six projects that directly or indirectly addressed COVID-19 through vaccine education and distribution. For example, we funded Dr. Maristela Rovai, Assistant Professor and Dairy Extension Specialist at South Dakota State University, on a vaccine education project for local dairies. Her team addressed misinformation online through a Spanish-language Facebook page, communicated with dairy workers via WhatsApp, and helped community organizations coordinate their vaccine clinics. IDRC & Dairy Efforts Beyond HICAHS Region. A prime example of HICAHS' impactful work in the r2p paradigm has been our scholarship and outreach with the dairy industry, with national and international impact spanning from the research bench to the dairy barn to policy. This success is built on transdisciplinary, commitment to community engagement, and attention to policy implications of our work. HICAHS Research and Outreach Cores have maintained a targeted focus with the dairy industry for more than two decades. In that time, the Center has led numerous research studies and served as technical experts for local, regional, and national industry groups on worker safety and health. Because of increased consumer concern for worker welfare in the dairy industry, the Idaho Dairymen's Association has launched a multi-year initiative to address worker safety on dairy farms throughout the state. The Idaho Dairyman's Association (IDA) is taking a proactive approach by partnering with HICAHS personnel Drs. David Douphrate and Robert Hagevoort (previous HICAHS Advisory Board Member) to implement a comprehensive safety management program on IDA member farms and provide safety training and consultation to all 500 IDA farm members. Drs. Douphrate and Hagevoort serve on the National Milk Producer Federation task force on dairy worker safety and welfare and developed an Idaho Dairy Workforce Training and Safety Program, described above, which was also adopted by the National Milk Producers Federation. Dr. Reynolds has served on the Advisory Board for this program, which has led to the development of a Worker Health program to the National Milk Producer Federation's Dairy Program using our 2019 FARM Workforce Development Safety Reference Manual developed by Dr. Douphrate with input from several NIOSH AgFF Directors including Dr. Reynolds. Additionally, Idaho Senator Simpson has developed a Farm Workforce Modernization Act for the nation informed by HICAHS research and programs. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Communicable Diseases Forestry Health Promotion Hunting Livestock Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Agricultural Centers Animal Husbandry Workers COVID-19 Fishing Industry Forestry Workers Health Promotion Livestock Industry Partnership R2p Research To Practice Initiative
• 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:
  Colorado ; Montana ; Nebraska ; New Mexico ; North Dakota ; OSHA Region 6 ; OSHA Region 7 ; OSHA Region 8 ; South Dakota ; Texas ; Utah ; Wyoming
• 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:
  1-77
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20070876
• 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-008085, 2022 Dec; :1-77
• Email:
  Stephen.Reynolds@Colostate.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2023
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  Colorado State University - Ft. Collins
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20030915
• Source Full Name:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• End Date:
  20270914
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:d789896361362b555aeb9636f8462bc5c5ec3fb0da5367f63fb6ff4f494431b2a526dfadbca78a7781e4c2c8c7ca4d1852a2a391b087977b33dfdd74e0543c0a
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/219292/cdc_219292_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.25 MB ]