: Public health and safety in public schools: Training pre-service teachers in the economics of injury prevention in rural areas

High school students aged 15-19 are at the highest risk for agricultural injury and fatality. In rural communities this at-risk group spends the majority of time in public high school classrooms. Thus, training teachers to serve as health and safety advocates is crucial to reaching these at-risk adolescents. -Four types of injury events prevalent among adolescents and adults who live and/or work on farms are targeted in this program: (a) crush injuries to operators when tractors without ROPS overturn, (b) deadly collisions between farm tractors and other motor vehicles on public roadways, (c) hearing impairment and (c) traumatic brain injuries to horseback and ATV riders without helmets. A set of interactive stories that simulate a typical case for each of these four injury categories across the pre-event, event, and post-event stages, and (b) an interactive Excel™-based Cost Tool program that calculates the costs of each injury and the cost effectiveness of its prevention (e.g. ATV wearing of approved helmets) are demonstrated. This research to practice session will focus on the methodology, implementation, web-based data collection system and the RCT research design to evaluate outcomes of this multi-state, multi-year program funded by NIOSH. Project innovations include the combination of farm safety and economics, linking intervention materials to the mandated core content of state school curricula, and using current computer and communication technology to deliver the materials nationally. The program materials and methods may serve as models for other similar translation efforts aimed at preventing occupational injuries.