The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #69032

Suzanne P. Teran, MPH, Labor Occupational Health Program (LOHP), UC Berkeley, 2223 Fulton Street, Fourth Floor, Berkeley, CA 94720-5120, 510-643-2423, steran@uclink4.berkeley.edu, Ron Strochlic, MA, California Institute for Rural Studies, 221 G Street, Suite 204, Davis, CA 95616, and Diane Bush, MPH, Labor Occupational Health Program, UC Berkeley, University of California at Berkeley, 2223 Fulton Street, 4th Floor, Berkeley, CA 94720-5120.

Most health and safety data on teens or children who work in farms focuses on family farms and very little has been directed at hired teen farmworkers. In California, where agriculture represents a major source of employment for teens in agricultural communities, 80% of the farmwork is carried out by hired farmworkers. This paper describes the results of an evaluation of a school-based intervention to reach teen farmworkers with information about protecting their health and safety in the fields. Over two years, a collaborative that includes a university-based health and safety program, a community organization, and evaluation researchers trained high school ESL teachers in three Central Valley counties to implement the six-unit curriculum. These teachers then taught approximately 1,400 students how to identify health and safety hazards in the fields, protect themselves from injury and illness, and understand their rights. In two of the counties, the project also provided information to the students' parents through short workshops. Evaluation methodology included pre- and post-tests immediately before and after the curriculum was implemented, follow-up interviews with youth several months later (and after their summer work experience), focus groups, and interviews with teachers and parents. Teens and teachers responded enthusiastically to the curriculum itself, citing its relevance to the students' experience and the importance of the information it conveyed. Preliminary results indicate that students in the intervention classes showed significant increases in knowledge and attitudes, when compared with students in three control counties. Final results will be available in November 2003.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe components of a six-unit high school curriculum for English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) classes 2)Describe successes and challenges of implementing such a curriculum in schools
• Describe factors that influence the ability of teen farmworkers to protect themselves at work

Keywords: Youth, Agricultural Work Safety

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: Labor Occupational Health Program, UC Berkeley Harder+Company California Rural Legal Assistance
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: I work at the Labor Occupational Health Program, and the project described in this paper was carried out as part of my work.