Relevance

According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2017, Kentucky (KY) agriculture had the highest number of fatalities in all work sectors (U.S. Bureau of Labor, 2017). While the number of fatalities and injuries has decreased in KY, it remains that agriculture is a dangerous occupation and there are health and safety risk factors unique to working and living on a farm. In Kentucky, 95% of the farms are small family farms that are not required to be monitored by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Response

In 2019, the Kentucky Department of Agriculture established a coalition in collaboration with multiple agricultural entities from across the state to promote the health and safety of our farmers and farm family members. Initially the group focused on the mental health of farmers, but soon found that safety, physical health, and mental health of farmers were synergistically related. Furthermore, focus group discussions conducted by a team member found that KY farmers felt unappreciated for what they did and dealt with on a day-to-day basis and that the non-farming public had little concept of the same as well as what it takes to get food and fiber to the table. Therefore, programs and outreach facilitated by the team were focused on promoting health and safety, increasing awareness in the non-farming public, and reducing the stigma of seeking help for mental health and preventative health screenings.

As part of the promotion of health and safety of farmers and farm families, the Extension Specialist Ag Nurse developed the Occupational Health: Ag Health & Safety program. The program is designed to increase cultural humility of future health care providers, increasing awareness in the non-farming population of the occupation of farming and importance of agriculture, and to offer nurses a potential career in agriculture.

The Ag nurse speaks to public health nursing classes from universities across the state about occupational health nursing, and the occupational hierarchy of controls, and then tours a farm observing from the occupational health nurse perspective. The students can listen to the farmer, farm family members, and workers and ask questions. Teams of students are assigned an area of focus (chemical, environment, confined space, etc.) prior to the tour. The students locate and address observed health and safety risks based on the occupational hierarchy.

Results

Overall, 207 nursing students and their faculty from 4 major KY university nursing programs participated. Seven different KY farms were toured and arranged in collaboration with the KY Department of Agriculture KY Proud Program, and KY Department of Agriculture Safety branch.

Student Post-Evaluation:

Noted comments from students:

We can have more empathy and understanding when patients from rural areas come in. I feel that when we receive these patients from rural areas we don’t understand the type of work they do.

This experience was very eye opening to me. We toured a local farm and I never knew what farmers actually did every day, where they performed these things, or how dangerous the equipment they worked with.

I learned how extensive farming was and how much constant work it takes to keep it running. I know now that I personally could never run or own a farm.

Help us to acknowledge that farmers really don’t have time to stay in the hospital for multiple days.

Public Value Statement

The goal is to: a) increase cultural humility of future health care providers, b) increasing awareness in the non-farming population of the occupation of farming and importance of agriculture, d) promote health and safety of farmers and farm families, e) enhance collaboration with universities and department of agriculture, and f) to offer nurses a potential career in agriculture.