The North American Guidelines for Children's Agricultural Tasks (NAGCAT) were developed to assist parents in assigning developmentally appropriate and safe work to children. Contained within NAGCAT are specific and general recommendations for parents on how the make the worksite and the farm job safer for children. In a previous abstract, we describe how an enhanced strategy for the dissemination of the Guidelines led to improved rates of adoption of NAGCAT among farm families. This second analysis reports on the extent to which the enhanced dissemination strategy led to 1) self-reported improvements to the farm workplace [e.g. installation/repair of a safety shield on farm machinery] and, 2) actual changes in the assignment of farm work to children [e.g. setting developmentally appropriate time limits for jobs]. 450 farms in Canada and the United States completed the 15-month study protocol. At the final follow-up interview, 90% of the farm parents [both trial arms combined] reported at least one physical change to the farm worksite and/or change in the way a child performed farm work. The most frequently reported modifications were the prohibition of children from doing a farm job and the provision of additional work supervision. This study may show how a simple and practical dissemination strategy increased the actual use of NAGCAT on farms as reflected in physical changes to the farm and modifications to farm work assignments. At the time of the APHA submission deadline, comparisons between the two study arms were still pending.
Learning Objectives: This is the second of two presentations that describe the results of a multi-site randomized controlled trial. Here, participants will: (1) further consider issues surrounding the design and conduct of the trial itself; (2) discuss the influence of an enhanced dissemination approach on actual farm safety practices; (3) consider the implications of these results for childhood agricultural injury prevention, in general.
Keywords: Injury Prevention, Youth at Work
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.