M.
J. Fleming and S. Rinehart
NIOSH Education and Information Division
Within
the past few years, two local children died in grain bin suffocation
incidents. One, a recent high school graduate of the city
schools, had taken a position at the grain elevator. The second
student was on a school field trip. In response to these cases,
local health care providers began asking, "How can we prevent
these tragedies?"
The
county-wide health and safety curriculum committee for the
local school systems welcomed the Agricultural Health coordinator
as a member. Instructional objectives which cover rural and
agricultural risks were added to the curriculum. Kids Safety
Scenes, organized by the Pediatric/Adolescent Unit Nurse Manager
and the Director of the Emergency Management Association,
was organized as one method of educating children.
Kids
Safety Scenes is an all-day instructional program provided
for Delaware county fifth graders. The program is multi-disciplinary
with presenters representing community agencies. Three school
districts bus the students to the joint vocational school
for eleven educational presentations. Five are focused on
first aid and six are on farm injury prevention.
In 1993
and l994, a pre-test/post-test evaluation was added to the
existing evaluations by teachers, principals and presenters.
Interview evaluations have also been completed on a small
scale. Teachers, presenters and one classroom were interviewed.
Videotaped interviews with students revealed their favorite
stations, and more importantly their ability to explain what
they had learned.
In 1993,
the post-tests were administered in one school after a pilot
in a similar community program. The test revealed a need to
review the station on gun safety as there was no significant
change in scores. In other areas, the post-test showed increases
in the knowledge gained at each station.
In 1994,
the post-test was randomized by classroom. Results again showed
measurable learning. Future evaluations will continue to identify
learning from farm safety training for children. Additional
research can be targeted to changes in behavior and/or the
farm work site for those students that live on/work on a farm.
Disclaimer
and Reproduction Information: Information in NASD does not represent
NIOSH policy. Information included in NASD appears by permission
of the author and/or copyright holder. More
NASD Review: 04/2002
This
research abstract was extracted from a portion of the proceedings
of "Agricultural Safety and Health: Detection, Prevention and
Intervention," a conference presented by the Ohio State University
and the Ohio Department of Health, sponsored by the Centers
for Disease Control/National Institute for Occupational Safety
and Health.
The
authors noted above are from: M. J. Fleming, Ohio Dept. of
Health, Delaware, OH; S. Rinehart, Grady Memorial Hospital,
Delaware, OH.
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