141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

287268
Sustaining a risk reduction and safety practices intervention model: A randomized control study Examining the effects of transferring the community health worker model to an occupational agricultural setting

Monday, November 4, 2013 : 9:15 AM - 9:30 AM

Patricia M. Juárez-Carrillo, PhD, MPH , Department of Chicano Studies, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX
Amy K. Liebman, MPA, MA , Migrant Clinicians Network, Quantico, MD
Francisco Guerrero Silva , National Farm Medicine Center, Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation, Marshfield, WI
Iris Anne Reyes, MPH , National Farm Medicine Center, Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation, Marshfield, WI
Dennis Ray , National Farm Medicine Center, Marshfield, WI
Matthew Keifer, MD, MPH , National Farm Medicine Center, Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation, Marshfield, WI
Hispanic immigrants face numerous challenges in the US. In occupational settings, workers struggle between keeping their job, staying safe, and navigating the worker protection and health systems. As stated by David Michaels, OSHA Assistant Secretary, “Latino workers face the most dangerous working conditions and the fewest protections.” This is particularly challenging in high risk industries such as agriculture. Our comprehensive intervention is based on multiple approaches to reduce work-related injuries and diseases in dairy. It consists of a farm risk reduction component coupled with a worker educational component, and reinforced with a network of promotores de salud (PdS). The farm component consists of a hazard identification and remediation plan. The worker educational component addresses knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) and integrates concepts from the Health Belief Model, Risk Prevention, and the Taxonomy of Significant Learning. Finally, we applied the principles of the Community Health Worker (CHW) model to an occupational setting by creating a network of PdS to sustain the effects of the intervention, reinforce knowledge and practices, and serve as liaison between farmers and workers.

A randomized controlled study was designed to examine this model on 90 farms with an estimated total of 500 Hispanic workers. The effects of the intervention on risk reduction and safer practices were associated with the PdS component as an independent factor. Preliminary results show the effects on farm risk reduction practices, workers' injury reports and knowledge changes, and the analysis of the effectiveness of applying the CHW model to an occupational setting.

Learning Areas:
Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Environmental health sciences
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Occupational health and safety
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Explain the dimensions of this comprehensive intervention model to reduce risks and injuries on dairy farms. Identify the principles and components to design a culturally appropriate curriculum for Hispanic immigrant workers' to increase their knowledge and promote behavioral changes. Describe key successful components and challenges of transferring the CHW model to address and reduce occupational risks, injuries and illnesses on dairy farms.

Keywords: Injury Prevention, Immigrants

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a bilingual/bicultural public health professional with extensive experience in both research and program development in Mexico and the United States. My research interests are focused in the areas of environmental health, US-Mexico border health, community-based participatory research, Hispanic populations, environmental justice, and disparities. I have designed community health curricula and educational materials and facilitated high quality training for community health workers (i.e. promotores de salud) on key environmental health issues.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.