Source: OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY submitted to
THE OHIO AGRABILITY PROGRAM
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
ACTIVE
Funding Source
3D GRANT
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1026736
Grant No.
2021-41590-34812
Cumulative Award Amt.
$735,360.00
Proposal No.
2021-02989
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Jul 1, 2021
Project End Date
Jun 30, 2025
Grant Year
2024
Program Code
[LQ]- AgrAbility
Project Director
Jepsen, S. D.
Recipient Organization
OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
1680 MADISON AVENUE
WOOSTER,OH 44691
Performing Department
Food, Agr, and Biological Eng
Non Technical Summary
The Ohio AgrAbility Project (OAP) is a collaborative effort between Ohio State University Extension, Easter Seals Serving Greater Cincinnati and expanding to include Central State University. OAP promotes independence through vocational rehabilitation and establishes service capacity to meet the needs of Ohio agriculturalists who have experienced a disabling injury. Using a comprehensive approach, OAP provides education to multiple agricultural groups, serves health care providers with farm-specific information, prepares individualized plans during on-site visits, links clients through supportive peer networks, identifies assistive technology (AT) providers, and aids in resource development. The primary goal of OAP is to optimize the clientele's farmstead planning, support their sustainability in an agricultural occupation, improve their financial stability and ultimately increase their quality of life.The four primary objectives of the project are education, networking, assistive technology, and increased public awareness. Through this multi-faceted approach, OAP bridges the gap between agricultural clientele and disability services and appropriate resources. A key role of this project is to continue serving our OAP clients, in addition to growing the network that was first established over the last twelve years. OAP's continued success will rely upon serving existing customers and creating additional linkages in the production agricultural and service arenas, specifically expanding the project's partnerships with farmers, rural health care providers, student and pre-professional collegiate groups, AT technicians, and other key stakeholders. Using traditional face-to-face approaches, as well as electronic media outlets (including webinars and social media), the OAP will continue to effectively support Ohio's agricultural community.?
Animal Health Component
80%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
0%
Applied
80%
Developmental
20%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
7236010303050%
7236020303010%
7236030302010%
7236050303010%
7235399202020%
Knowledge Area
723 - Hazards to Human Health and Safety;

Subject Of Investigation
5399 - Structures, facilities, and equipment, general/other; 6010 - Individuals; 6020 - The family and its members; 6030 - The farm as an enterprise; 6050 - Communities, areas, and regions;

Field Of Science
2020 - Engineering; 3020 - Education; 3030 - Information and communication;
Goals / Objectives
The primary goal of Ohio AgrAbility (OAP) is to optimize the participants' farmstead planning, support their sustainability in an agricultural occupation, improve their financial stability and ultimately improve their quality of life. The four primary objectives of the project are education, networking, assistive technology, and increased public awareness. Through this multi-faceted approach, OAP bridges the gaps between agricultural participants, disability services and appropriate resources. A key role of this project is to continue serving our OAP participants, in addition to growing the established network. OAP's continued success will rely upon serving existing participants and creating additional linkages in the production agriculture and service arenas, specifically expanding the project's partnerships with farmers, rural health care providers, student and pre-professional collegiate groups, AT technicians, and other key stakeholders. Using traditional face-to-face approaches, as well as electronic media outlets (including webinars and social media), OAP will continue to effectively support Ohio's agricultural community.Obj. 1 EDUCATION Educate farmers/farm families, as well as health, farm, government and education professionals each year on accommodating disabilities and avoiding secondary injuries in persons with disabilities in production agriculture. Educate the agricultural community on the availability of the AgrAbility project, on accommodating disabilities in the production agricultural community and avoiding secondary injury in those who are disabled. Establish an OAP listserv to share information with and educate key stakeholders, professionals, and production agricultural groups who work with or intersect with farmers with disabilities.Obj. 2 NETWORKING Increase the capacity to serve customers of OAP by engaging an advisory and resource network of key stakeholders, government systems, service providers, farmers, health care professionals, public officials and educators that would bring increased information and resources to the project. Continue an informal peer-to-peer network of farmers and family members who have experienced disability to provide one-on-one information and support to farmers with newly acquired disabilities or new to the OAP project so they can understand how technology and other resources can continue to make farming a viable occupation. Build the capacity to serve OAP participants through engaging targeted service specialists and professionals willing to share their expertise. Increased opportunity for training & employment for individuals with physical, intellectual or developmental disabilities. Farmers will benefit from development of solutions and/or tools to improve worker productivity and knowledge.Obj. 3 ASSISTANCE Increase the quality of life, ability to remain in production agriculture and/or financial stability of farmer participants by providing individualized consultation in assessments, accessibility and ergonomic recommendations, life activities recommendations, farm operations planning, case management, and advocacy in accessing resources and direct services. Increase access to assistive technology and adaptations for OAP participants by developing resources for those participants who have limited or no funds available to them and to ensure sustainability of the OAP program. Increase the knowledge of farmers with disabilities and their families on the causes and prevention of secondary injury. Provide information on the OAP through targeted vehicles that are most likely to reach key audiences of people interested or involved in production agriculture.Obj. 4 MARKETING Increase awareness of AgrAbility program for workers, agencies, and stakeholders.
Project Methods
To achieve the outlined goals and objectives, we will use the following approaches and methods. Evaluation efforts include participant surveys following an educational program, internal tracking system of clients, and satisfaction surveys from advisory and peer network groups.Obj. 1 EDUCATIONStaff will develop virtual webinars and in-person presentations for farm groups, health care provider groups, workforce development professionals, and student learners on the topics of: OAP mission and services, assistive technology uses in agriculture, accommodating disabilities and avoiding secondary injury in production agriculture. Staff will develop educational workshops for caregivers on an annual basis, and workforce preparation workshops every two years.Staff will develop a series of interchangeable tabletop displays on AgrAbility, assistive technology/demonstration equipment, and other issues pertinent to farmers with disabilities. Locations for tabletop displays include farm shows, county fairs, health and safety meetings targeting the agricultural community, etc. OAP fact sheets will be available for distribution. Inquiry postcards will be available for participants who would like more one-on-one information about OAP's mission.Staff will utilize social media to promote resources, invite user interaction and share current and relevant content.Staff will maintain and provide quarterly updates to a listserv of education presentation attendees, agency participant attendees, display attendees, advisory committee members and other interested persons, to keep them informed of OAP activities.Obj. 2 NETWORKINGOAP will maintain a 15-person advisory committee that meets twice a year to provide guidance to the project. Committee representatives will be health- and agricultural-based stakeholder groups.A peer-to-peer network provides client support within the program. New OAP clients will be invited to participate. Quarterly events will build community, educate and engage clients and their families, and will allow staff to address concerns and develop resources to quickly meet client needs. AgrAbility peer farmers will also staff displays and participate in educational presentations around the state.OAP will involve a variety of people, agencies, academic institutions and resources that can impact farmers with disabilities and farm family members in the state.Obj. 3 ASSISTANCEOAP will take referrals, conduct an intake screening for eligibility, provide information on the project to the farmer or farm worker, and set up an assessment. If needed, the participant will have access to vocational and occupational assessments. Staff will track implementation and progress towards goals and gauge participant satisfaction with the project. OAP services/recommendations will be incorporated into any larger service plan. In the event that Ohio's Rehabilitation Service agency makes a referral to OAP, OAP will conduct the assessment and develop the individualized plan. In addition, OAP staff will determine if the participant is eligible for other support services.Obj. 4 MARKETINGOAP staff will develop public awareness materials related to OAP to inform a large audience of the availability of the project, avoidance of secondary injury, and fact sheets on specific issues related to health and disability. OAP will maintain a website for access to this information, as well as create a presence on social media pages. Staff will also write press releases and OAP newsletters; and place articles, success stories or public service announcements in various media outlets.

Progress 07/01/23 to 06/30/24

Outputs
Target Audience:OAP's primary audiences are farmers and farm families with disabilities; the program provides education resources and services to promote independence and sustainability in agriculture. In addition, OAPtargetsruralcommunitiesandagriculturalservingagencies,includingfarmworkers,youth,OhioFarmBureau,FarmServiceAgency,NaturalResourceConservationService,SoilandWaterConservationService,OhioStateGrange,OhioArthritisFoundations,OhioYoungFarmers,AssistiveTechnologyOhio,andOhioMichiganEquipmentDealersAssociation.Inadditiontothese,ourprojectcontinuestoreachouttodisabilityservingorganizationsincluding Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities, Ohio Bureau of Worker's Compensation,OhioDepartmentofDevelopmentDisabilities,OhioCountyBoardsofDevelopmentalDisabilities,theVeteranAssociationhospitals,CentersofIndependentLiving,AreaAgencyonAging,ArthritisAssociations,GoodwillIndustries,Columbus Advisor Council on Disability Issues,rehabilitationhospitalsand occupationaltherapyproviders. Effortsincludeone-on-oneeducationalandassistivetechnologyassistance,outreacheducationalpresentations,secondary injurypreventionpresentations,workshopsforprofessionalsinthefield,mentoringofpre-serviceengineeringstudents. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?OAP staff presented at the Ohio Case Managers and Care Coordinators conference; this was Ohio AgrAbility's first presentation to this audience, and 180 attendees received CEUs for their participation.OAP also presented an In-Service to OSUE Educators on AgrAbility services and educational topics that can be presented in their communities. OAP staff participated in one vendor fair for OOD counselors. Our content provided information-only based resources about our services to the agricultural community. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?OAP develops and delivers training sessions, resource handouts, assistive technology demonstrations, fact sheets and newsletters to share information via conference presentations, social media, newsletters, list serves, and displays. Ohio AgrAbility publishes educational resources on our website, archiving the information for public use and access. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?TheProjectLogicModeloutlinesourgoals,objectivesandevaluationstrategies.ThisModelwillcontinuetoguideoureffortsintothecomingyear.Specifically, OAP will continue to author fact sheets, develop programs and resources, support clientele, and provide peer-to-peer networking, as well as increase capacity to provide OSU Extension with expertise on accessibility, inclusion and workforce development for individuals with disabilities. OAP will collaborate with the OAP Advisory Board and stakeholders to promote OAP services across Ohio and provide technical assistance to farmers, on-farm visits and consultations. OAP will continue to provide leadership for the AgrAbility Writing Group by creating new and updated resources for farming with a disability. OAP will expand collaboration with OSUE, state, regional, and National AgrAbility Projects through webinars, conferences, and other initiatives that impact quality of life for farmers with disabilities.?

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Two primary impacts of the Ohio AgrAbility Program (OAP) are the capacity to provide educational and technical assistance for farm families and individuals with disabling injuries using an all-encompassing delivery approach. TheOhioAgrAbilityProjectcreatedawarenessandaddressedtheneedsofOhio'sAgriculturalcommunity,asreportedby these specific objectives. Education: Activity 1.1 Deliver presentations.Presented 21 educational workshops/webinars and 5 educational posters/floor displays to 4,926 farmers and stakeholders. Emails were sent to 260 OAP email list serve members.OAP staff presented or displayed at 4 new organizations, totaling almost 1,200 people who were made aware of AgrAbility services and resources. OAP staff presented a webinar on agritourism, and a pre-conference session on Gardening with Arthritis for the National Conifer Society. The Ohio Case Managers and Care Coordinators Association hosted AgrAbility staff at their annual conference. Ohio AgrAbility was a featured topic at the Deerfield Ag Services Farmer Night. OAP staff hosted a display at Farm Days at the Center of Science and Industry (COSI). Activity1.2 Develop and deliver resources.OAP distributes its 32 AgrAbility Series factsheets upon request for specific disabling conditions faced by farmers and prevention of secondary injuries. Distribution includes website downloads, hard copies distributed at events, and mailings sent upon request. Activity 1.3 Identify agr operations, partner with Intellectual Disability professionals.Establishedpartnerships with farms, agencies and organizations who serve individuals with Intellectual Disability. Activity 1.4Expand health & wellness curriculum.OAP staff continue to present presentations for OTs and PTs, rural health audiences, and share farm stress resources with farmers and stakeholders. OAP staff hosted a display promoting farming with a disability, and farm safety during Farm Days at COSI. Activity 1.5Provide Continuing Education training.OAP provided program updates to: OOD counselors attending an annual Vendor Day, and the Ohio Case Managers and Care Coordinators Association Conference where attendees earned Continuing Education credit for the session. OAP presented an In-Service to OSUE Educators on AgrAbility services and available educational workshops. Activity 1.6Student engagement projects. Presented guest lectures at 2 universities: at OSU, 24 students in an Ag Safety and Health class, and at Wilmington College 12 students and staff in the rural OT program. An OSU Capstone team of 4 students developed: Obstacles in Designing Assistive Technology within a Skid Loader for Low-Mobility Individuals. The students presented their findings at NTW 2024 and won the Outstanding Innovator Award at the annual OSU Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering student project competition. Activity 1.7Write AgrAbility 4-H Project Book.OAP staff continued leading the NAP writing group of staff from other SRAPs to update fact sheets and create resources on farming with a disability. Networking: Activity 2.a.1.Maintain a 15-member advisory committee. Advisory Committee members include the Farm Service Agency, Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities OOD, OSU faculty, OSU ADA Coordinator's Office, OSU Wexner Medical Center, Assistive Technology Ohio, Ohio Department of Veterans Services, Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities, and 4 OAP clients. Members worked at various outreach events with OAP staff to promote the goals of our project and help increase outreach and identify underserved groups in the agricultural community. An annual advisory committee meeting is scheduled for fall 2024. All committee members report sharing information to others about OAP. An Advisory Board member who is also an OOD supervisor uses an OAP presentation as part of her training and orientation for new OOD counselors and staff in her region. Activity 2.a.2.Develop an informal network of partners to provide resources & services.Continued collaboration opportunities with OSU Wexner Medical Center OTs and PTs for presentations and consultations. This has led to an increase in patients being referred to OAP for service and technical support. Activity 2.a.3.Education & awareness campaign for state legislators.An OSU legislative liaison regularly attends OSU Safety Program's monthly meetings to hear OAP updates. OAP staff attended the JCEP Public Issues and Leadership Development conference in Washington D.C. Staff met with Legislative Aides from Ohio's Senate and Representative's Offices to share information and advocate for Ohio AgrAbility. Activity 2.a.4.Collaborate with OSU projects/USDA-NIFA RHSE & FRSAN grant for workshops & resources.OAP works with USDA NIFA funded RHSE Opioids harm reduction grant and FRSAN grant, sharing information across clients, teams and stakeholders. Activity 2.a.5. Collaborate with NAP.OAP staff submit annual demographics, present at NTW, present webinars, and participate in special interest groups/ including Marketing and Media, and the NAP writing group. Activity 2.b.1. Create Peer-to-Peer network opportunities.Three Peer-to-Peer events were held: August 2023, September 2023, and March 2024. Activity 2.b.2. Involve OAP farmers in programming events. OAP farmers annually help staff the Farm Science Review exhibit.OAP sponsored 6 farmers and family members and 4 Capstone students to attend the 2024 NTW in Atlanta, Georgia. OAP staff and students presented or co-presented 6 sessions at this year's NTW. Assistance: Activity 3.a.1. Provide intake on all referrals, screen for eligibility, conduct assessment, develop an ISP, report client data to NAP.In YR 3of this grantcycle, OAP had 156 new and continuing clients.Staff conducted on-site assessments to serve clients in multiple agricultural work environments. Activity 3.a.2. Build relationship with OOD by providing fee-for-service VR assessments.Continuedrelationship with OOD to work cooperatively to address barriers to service and resource needs. On-site assessments prompted 29 referrals to OOD, 28 clients being approved for OOD services, 28 vocational assessments written, and OOD funding for $475,341in assistive technology, equipment, worksite modifications and services. Activity 3.a.3. Refer "information only" queries to appropriate resources. Provided direct consultation to an additional 45 farmers and agricultural workers. Marketing: Activity 4.1.Participate in variety of events and formats to reach underrepresented farming populations.Through displays and educational events, OAP staff seek out opportunities to reach under-represented farming populations. Activity 4.2. Maintain online presence.Maintain an active presence on social media to reach key audiences involved in production agriculture, and to inform the public of our educational and outreach activities. OAP participated in the AgrAbility Virtual State Fair, held on Facebook. Ohio's day at the fair was October 18, 2023, with 5 posts for Ohio's agriculture and OAP services. Posts were seen by over 4,900 Facebook users. The entire national event drew over 8,000 unique individuals. Activity 4.3. Review and update marketing materials.OAP staff reviewed and updated brochures, factsheets, and other handouts and resources. Activity 4.4Write articles, social media posts, give media interviews.Staff utilized social media and webinars to increase awareness of Ohio AgrAbility. Staff contributes to the monthly NAP eNote newsletter, and submits articles to Ohio's Country Journal and OSU Ag Safety and Health social media platforms. Activity 4.5 and 4.6.Cultivate monetary and AT equipment support though internal and external entities for program sustainability.OAP received donations from Cursive Ohio Bike Ride and Farm Credit Mid-America to support farmer travel to NTW and peer-to-peer activities.

Publications

  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Akgerman, L. (2023). Addressing mental health stigma in rural communities. Ohio Rural Health Conference, Ada, Ohio.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Akgerman, L., Jarman, R. (2024) Case Managers and Care Coordinators: Working together to serve Ohios farmers. Ohio Case Managers Association Annual Conference, Columbus, Ohio.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Bergman, A., Carriero, V., Parsio, A., Bench, B., Jepsen, S.D. (2024) Obstacles in designing A.T. within a skid loader for low mobility individuals. National Training Workshop, Atlanta, Georgia.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Delisle, T., Head, L., Mixson, J., Kratochwill, J., Jarman, R. (2024). Destigmatizing disability within the farm community. National Training Workshop, Atlanta, Georgia.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Jepsen, S.D., Akgerman, L., Jarman, R., Joseph, R., Lewis, K., Greenwelge, C., Thomas, M. (2024). Cultivating a peer mentorship network in your state. National Training Workshop, Atlanta, Georgia
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Jepsen, S.D., Dunn, J., Reeves, B. (2024) Building capacity for farm stress resilient communities: 2 state approaches. National Training Workshop, Atlanta, Georgia.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Jones, P., Etheridge, S., Joseph, R., Barber, J. (2024). AgrAbility and VR: Navigating policies, procedures and people. National Training Workshop, Atlanta, Georgia.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Goetting, Marsha A., Schmall, V., Jepsen, S.D., Hensley-McBain, T., Brown, R. (2024). Alzheimer's and Related Dementias: Support for Montana Farmers and Ranchers and Their Families (Volume 1). Available at: https://www.montana.edu/estateplanning/farmersandranchersdementiaguide.html


Progress 07/01/22 to 06/30/23

Outputs
Target Audience: OAP targets rural communities and agricultural serving agencies, including farm workers, youth, Ohio Farm Bureau, Farm Service Agency, Natural Resource Conservation Service, Soil and Water Conservation Service, Ohio State Grange, Ohio Arthritis Foundations, Ohio Young Farmers, Assistive Technology Ohio, and Ohio Michigan Equipment Dealers Association. In addition to these, our project continues to reach out to disability serving organizations including Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities, Ohio Bureau of Worker's Compensation, Ohio Department of Development Disabilities, Ohio County Boards of Developmental Disabilities, the Veteran Association hospitals, Centers of Independent Living, Area Agency on Aging, Arthritis Associations, Goodwill Industries, Columbus Advisor Council on Disability Issues, rehabilitation hospitals and occupational therapy providers. Efforts include one-on-one educational and assistive technology assistance, outreach educational presentations, secondary injury prevention presentations, workshops for professionals in the field, mentoring of pre-service engineering students.? Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?No professional trainings were conducted in YR 2. OAP staff presented at two workshops, one vendor fair for OOD counselors and one Master Gardener program. Our content provided information-only based resources about our services to the agricultural community. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?OAP develops and delivers training sessions, resource handouts, assistive technology demonstrations, fact sheets and newsletters to share information via conference presentations, social media, newsletters, list serves, and displays. Ohio AgrAbility publishes educational resources on our website, archiving the information for public use and access. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The Project Logic Model outlines our goals, objectives and evaluation strategies. This Model will continue to guide our efforts into the coming year.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Two primary impacts of the Ohio AgrAbility Program (OAP) are the capacity to provide educational and technical assistance for farm families and individuals withdisabling injuries using an all-encompassing delivery approach.The Ohio AgrAbility Project created awareness and addressed the needs of Ohio's Agricultural community, as reported by these specific objectives. Education Activity 1.1 Deliver presentations. Presented 26 educational workshops/webinars and 4 educational posters/ floor displays to a combined audience of 12,970 farmers and stakeholders. Informational emails sent to 260 OAP email list serve members. Activity 1.2 Develop & distribute factsheets & educational resources. Distributed 32 AgrAbility Series factsheets specific to disabling conditions faced by farmers and prevention of secondary injuries. Distribution includes website downloads, hard copies distributed at events, and mailings sent upon request. Activity 1.3 Identify agricultural operations & partner with Intellectual Disability professionals. Established partnerships with farms, agencies and organizations who serve individuals with Intellectual Disability. Activity 1.4 Expand health & wellness curriculum. Dr. Jepsen advised an OT Doctorate student from Kettering College, who created Continuing Education for Healthcare Professionals: Addressing the Needs of Workers in the Commercial Agricultural Industry. OAP staff are reviewing this curriculum and will work with the student to create resources from it to share with AgrAbility colleagues, and health care personnel. Activity 1.5 Provide Continuing Education training. OAP provided a program update to professionals attending conferences. This included OOD counselors attending an annual OOD Vendor Day and Master Gardeners attending their annual meeting. Activity 1.6 Student engagement projects. Presented guest lectures at 2 universities: at Ohio State University, 24 students attended through their Ag Safety and Health class, and at Wilmington College 15 students and staff attended through their rural OT class. Activity 1.7 Write AgrAbility 4- H Project Book. OAP staff will lead a writing group of Ohio 4-H Educators and staff from other SRAPs to write and publish a 4-H project book on Disability Advocacy and Awareness, and AgrAbility. Networking Activity 2.a.1. Maintain a 15-member advisory committee. Advisory Committee members include the Farm Service Agency, Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (state Vocational Rehabilitation Services - OOD), OSU faculty, OSU ADA Coordinator's Office, Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association, OSU Wexner Medical Center, Assistive Technology Ohio, Ohio Department of Veterans Services, Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities, and 4 farmers with disabilities (OAP clients). Members worked at various outreach events with OAP staff to promote the goals of our project and help increase outreach and identify underserved groups in the agricultural community. An annual advisory committee meeting is scheduled for fall 2023. All committee members report sharing information to others about Ohio AgrAbility. An Advisory Board member who is also an OOD supervisor uses an OAP presentation as part of her training and orientation for new OOD counselors and staff in her region. Activity 2.a.2. Develop an informal network of partners to provide resources & services. Continued collaboration opportunities with OSU Wexner Medical Center OTs and PTs for presentations and consultations. This has led to an increase in patients being referred to OAP for service and technical support. Activity 2.a.3. Education & awareness campaign for state legislators. An OSU legislative liaison regularly attends a monthly meeting with the OSU Safety Program to hear OAP updates. OAP staff attended Traumatic Brain Injury Advocacy and Awareness Day in February 2023, and spoke to State Representative Mary Lightbody about Ohio AgrAbility, and asked Rep. Lightbody to share AgrAbility resources with her colleagues on the Agriculture Committee. Activity 2.a.4. Collaborate with OSU projects/USDA-NIFA RHSE & FRSAN grant for workshops & resources. OAP works with USDA NIFA funded RHSE Opioids harm reduction grant and FRSAN grant, sharing information across clients, teams and stakeholders. Activity 2.a.5. Collaborate with NAP. OAP staff continue to submit annual demographics, present at NTW, present webinars, and participate in special interest groups/communities of interest including Marketing and Media, Beekeepers, and the NAP writing group. Activity 2.b.1. Create Peer-to-Peer network opportunities. Peer-to-Peer events were held August 2022, at Farm Science Review in September 2022, and in March 2023 in northwest Ohio. Activity 2.b.2. Involve OAP farmers in programming events. OAP farmers annually help "staff" the Farm Science Review exhibit. OAP sponsored an Ohio farmer and a family member to attend the 2023 NTW in Spokane, Washington. Assistance Activity 3.a.1. Provide intake on all referrals, screen for eligibility, conduct assessment, develop an ISP, report client data to NAP. In YR 2of this grant cycle, OAP had 165 new and continuing clients. Staff conducted on-site assessments to serve clients in multiple agricultural work environments. Activity 3.a.2. Build relationship with OOD by providing fee-for-service VR assessments. Continued relationship with Ohio's VR system (OOD) to work cooperatively to address barriers to service and resource needs. On-site assessments prompted 25 referrals to OOD, resulting in 21 clients being approved for OOD services, 18 vocational assessments written, and OOD funding for $334,174 in assistive technology, equipment, worksite modifications and services. Activity 3.a.3. Refer "information only" queries to appropriate resources. Provided direct consultation to an additional 45 farmers and agricultural workers. Marketing Activity 4.1. Participate in variety of events and formats to reach underrepresented farming populations. Through displays and educational events, as well as radio and podcast interviews, OAP staff seek out opportunities to reach under-represented farming populations. Activity 4.2. Maintain online presence. Maintain an active presence on social media to reach key audiences involved in production agriculture, and to inform the public of our educational and outreach activities. OAP participated in the AgrAbility Virtual State Fair, held on Facebook and Twitter platforms; Ohio's designated day at the fair was October 18, 2022, with 5 specific posts for Ohio's agriculture and OAP services. Ohio's posts have been seen by 4,943 Facebook users. The entire event drew 8,100 unique individuals, and 7,000 Twitter impressions. Activity 4.3. Review and update marketing materials. Staff utilized social media and webinars to increase awareness of Ohio AgrAbility through promotion of webinars, fact sheets, and OAP website resources relating to Caregiving during the pandemic, gardening and farming with arthritis, and utilizing assistive technology to continue farming with a disability. Activity 4.4 Write articles, social media posts, give media interviews. OAP staff participated in 1 radio/podcast interview with a listenership of 8,250 people. Staff contribute to the monthly NAP eNote newsletter, as well as submitting articles to Ohio's Country Journal and OSU Ag Safety and Health social media platforms. Activity 4.5 and 4.6. Cultivate monetary and AT equipment support though internal and external entities for program sustainability. OAP received a donation from Cursive Ohio Bike Ride charity event and Farm Credit Mid-America to support farmer travel to NTW and peer-to-peer activities.

Publications

  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Akgerman, L. (2022). Gardening with Arthritis. Poster session at the Ohio Rural Health conference, Lore City, Ohio. August 22, 2022.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Akgerman, L. (2022). Ohio AgrAbility. Poster session at the Ohio Rural Health conference, Lore City, Ohio. August 2, 2022.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Jepsen, S.D., Akgerman, L. (2022). Asking the right questions and finding the right answers. Ohio Rural Health conference, Lore City, Ohio. August 1, 2022.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Jepsen. S.D., Akgerman, L., Hawkins, E., Zhao, L. (2022) FABE Meet and Greet: Learn How You Can Partner with Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering. OSU Extension Annual Conference, Columbus, Ohio. December 6, 2022.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Kulhanek, A., Barton, A. Jepsen, S.D, Akgerman, L., et al (2022). Breaking Through Silos: Learn from Successful Cross-Programmatic Teams. OSU Extension Annual Conference, Columbus, Ohio. December 7, 2022.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Akgerman, L. (2023). Gardening with Arthritis. Ohio Ecological Farm and Food Association conference, Granville, Ohio. February 18, 2023.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Akgerman, L., Domokos, M., Lissner, L. S. (2023). Planning for hidden disabilities: Creative solutions for accommodating everyone. Ohio 4-H Conference, Columbus, Ohio. March 11, 2023.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Jarman, R., Jepsen, S. D. (2023). Using social media to support your farmers and create educational content. National Training Workshop, Spokane, Washington. March 21, 2023.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Jarman, R., Scaife, G., Jepsen, S.D. (2023). Ohio AgrAbility and Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities, collaborating with our state Vocational Rehabilitation agency. National Training Workshop, Spokane, Washington. March 22, 2023.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Jepsen, S., Akgerman, L., Larson, T., Martin, K. (2022). Making lemonade when your outreach event hands you lemons. National AgrAbility webinar series, West Lafayette, Indiana. September 29, 2022.


Progress 07/01/21 to 06/30/22

Outputs
Target Audience:OAP targets rural communities and agricultural serving agencies, including farm workers, youth, Ohio Farm Bureau, Farm Service Agency, Natural Resource Conservation Service, Soil and Water Conservation Service, Ohio State Grange, Ohio Arthritis Foundations, Ohio Young Farmers, Assistive Technology Ohio, and Ohio Michigan Equipment Dealers Association. In addition to these, our project continues to reach out to disability serving organizations including Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities, Ohio Bureau of Worker's Compensation, Ohio Department of Development Disabilities, Ohio County Boards of Developmental Disabilities, the Veteran Association hospitals, Centers of Independent Living, Area Agency on Aging, Arthritis Associations, Goodwill Industries, Columbus Advisor Council on Disability Issues, rehabilitation hospitals and occupational therapy providers. Efforts include one-on-one educational and assistive technology assistance, outreach educational presentations, secondary injury prevention presentations, workshops for professionals in the field, mentoring of pre-service engineering students. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?OAP staff developed and presented two trainings for professional development, specifically attended by 15 Vocational Rehabilitation professionals and 20 Extension Educators. The sessions focused on the OAP mission, coordinating services between OAP and state VR agencies, assistive technology, and modifications for the worksite and equipment. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?OAP develops training sessions, resource handouts, assistive technology demonstrations, fact sheets and newsletters to share information via conference presentations, social media, newsletters, list serves, and displays. Ohio AgrAbility webinars were hosted on the OSU Extension Agricultural and Natural Resources Madness site, and are archived there, giving people the opportunity to watch archived webinars and learn more about Ohio AgrAbility. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The Project Logic Model outlines our goals, objectives and evaluation strategies. This Model will continue to guide our efforts into the coming year.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The Ohio AgrAbility Project created awareness and addressed needs of Ohio's Ag community, as reported by these specific objectives. Education Activity 1.1 Deliver presentations. Presented 22 educational workshops/webinars and 4 educational posters/floor displays to 11,990 people on accommodating disabilities, avoiding secondary injuries, and making their facilities, equipment and gardens accessible using modifications and universal design principles. Informational emails/mailings were sent to 260 OAP list serve members Activity 1.2 Develop & distribute educational resources. Distributed the 32 existing AgrAbility Series factsheets specific to disabling conditions faced by farmers and prevention of secondary injuries via electronic downloads from the website, hard copies distributed during educational events, and U.S. mailings sent upon request. Activity 1.3 Identify agricultural operations & partner with Intellectual Disability professionals. Established partnerships with farms, agencies and organizations who serve individuals with Intellectual Disabilities. Collaborations with OSU OT students created a library of videos showing different gardening tasks to be used for training and employment support of individuals with disabilities. Activity 1.4 Expand health & wellness curriculum. OAPs Caregiver Support Network hosted a webinar on medication safety for 80 attendees. This Network brings together colleagues from Ohio Dept of Developmental Disabilities, OSU College of Nursing and OSU Extension to plan educational workshops for rural caregivers and service providers. Resources are available on OAP website. Activity 1.5 Provide Continuing Education training. The CE training was delivered to OOD counselors attending an annual OOD Vendor Day; the purpose was providing an overview of OAP services. Activity 1.6 Establish student engagement projects. Presented at two collegiate lectures. At Ohio State University, 20 students attended through their Agricultural Safety and Health class, and at Wilmington College, 12 students and staff attended throuth their rural OT class. Activity 1.7 Write AgrAbility 4- H Project Book. Collaborated with AgrAbility staff from Kansas and Alaska to write Disability Advocacy and Awareness a 4-H Project Idea Starter (a self-directed project for 4-H youth). Networking Activity 2.a.1. Maintain a 15-member advisory committee. An advisory committee meeting held in March 2022 was attended by 90% of the members. Members provided advice and feedback to increase outreach and identify underserved groups in the agricultural community. Members were asked to rate their experience on a scale of 1-5 whether information presented at the meetings was valuable;100% of the committee members rated their experience as 4 and above. 100% of the respondents share OAP information with others and one member, who is also an OOD supervisor, uses an OAP presentation as part of her training and orientation for new counselors and staff. Activity 2.a.2. Develop an informal network of partners. Collaboration opportunities with OSU's Healthy Aging Network and OSU South Endeavor Center, resulted in two telecasts (seen by 12,500 people). Collaboration with OSU CFAES Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Office provided a 5-part webinar series - Everyone Can Garden! Gardening with a Disability or limitation, with a total attendance of 767. Activity 2.a.3. Create awareness for state legislators. An OSU legislative liaison regularly attends a monthly meeting with the OSU Safety Program to hear OAP updates and activities. No external legislative activities were conducted in year 2021. Activity 2.a.4. Collaborate with other USDA-NIFA RHSE & FRSAN sponsored projects. OAP Caregiver Support Network hosted a webinar on rural caregivers and mental health October 2021. The webinar was presented by OSU Extension Behavioral Health Specialist, who is supported by FRSAN. OAP continues to work with USDA NIFA funded RHSE Opioids harm reduction grant creating resources, sharing information across teams and stakeholders. Activity 2.a.5. Collaborate with NAP.OAP staff continue to submit annual demographics, present at NTW, present webinars, and participate in special interest groups/communities of interest including Marketing and Media, Beekeepers, and the NAP writing group. Activity 2.b.1. Create Peer-to-Peer network opportunities. Continued effects of COVID-19 prevented in-person Peer-to-Peer events in 2021, and the first half of 2022. A Peer-to-Peer meeting is scheduled August 4, 2022. Activity 2.b.2. Involve OAP farmers in program events. OAP farmers annually help "staff" the Farm Science Review exhibit. However during COVID-affected times, smaller volunteer numbers participated. OAP sponsored an Ohio farmer and a family member to attend the 2022 NTW in Madison, Wisconsin; this same farmer is a regular Peer to Peer event attendee, and also an OAP Advisory Committee member. Assistance Activity 3.a.1. Provide intake on all referrals, screen for eligibility, conduct assessment, develop an ISP, report client data to NAP. In YR1 of this grant cycle, OAP had 165 new and continuing clients. Staff conducted on-site assessments to serve clients in multiple agricultural work environments. Activity 3.a.2. Build relationship with OOD by providing fee-for-service VR assessments. Continued relationship with Ohio's VR system (OOD) to work cooperatively to address barriers to service and resource needs. On-site assessments prompted 18 referrals to OOD, resulting in 15 clients being approved for OOD services, 13 vocational assessments written, and OOD funding for $277,743 in assistive technology, equipment, worksite modifications and services. Activity 3.a.3. Refer "information only" queries to appropriate resources. Provided direct consultation through face-to-face, phone, and/or email correspondence to additional 45 farmers and agricultural workers. Marketing Activity 4.1. Participate in a variety of venues and formats. Through displays and educational events, as well as radio and podcast interviews, OAP staff seek out opportunities to reach under-represented farming populations. In 2021, OAP joined NAP staff at Horse Progress Days with a display and educational resources for Amish attendees. Activity 4.2. Maintain online presence. Maintain an active presence on social media to reach key audiences involved in production agriculture, and to inform the public of our educational and outreach activities. OAP participated in the AgrAbility Virtual State Fair, held on Facebook and Twitter platforms; Ohio's designated day at the fair was October 11, 2021, with 10 specific posts for Ohio's agriculture and OAP services. The entire event drew 28,954 unique individuals, had a cumulative reach of 95,050 posts viewed, and 85,549 Twitter impressions (numbers are for all posts and tweets from the Fair, not just Ohio's). Activity 4.3. Review and update marketing materials. Staff utilized social media and webinars during the COVID-19 pandemic to increase awareness of Ohio AgrAbility through promotion of webinars, fact sheets, and website resources related to Caregiving during the pandemic, gardening and farming with arthritis, and utilizing assistive technology to continue farming with a disability. Activity 4.4 Write articles, social media posts, give media interviews. OAP staff participated in 1 radio interview which was heard by 8,250 people. Staff contribute to the monthly NAP eNote newsletter, as well as submitting articles to Ohio's Country Journal and OSU Ag Safety and Health social media platforms. Activity 4.5 and 4.6. Cultivate monetary and AT equipment support though internal and external entities for program sustainability. OAP received donations from OSU student organizations (Crops and Soil and Agricultural Systems Management clubs; Alpha Gamma Rho and Delta Theta Sigma fraternities). OAP also received a donation from Cursive Ohio Bike Ride charity event.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Jepsen, S.D., Akgerman, L., Funkenbusch, K. Calero, J., Kelejian, H. (2022). Accessibility and Inclusion as an Approach to Enhancing Local Extension Programs. Journal of Human Sciences and Extension Volume 10, Number 2, pp.96-115.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Akgerman, L. (2022). Ohio AgrAbility: Working with a Disability. Ohio Land Improvement Contractors Association Annual Conference. Dublin, Ohio.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Akgerman, L., Jepsen, D., Martin, K., Lawson, T., Carlson, L. (2022). Making Lemonade When Your Outreach Events Hands You Lemons. 2022 AgrAbility National Training Workshop. Madison, Wisconsin.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Fields, B., Baldwin, C., Jepsen, D., Funkenbush, K. (2022). AgrAbility Accessing the Amish/Plain Farmer. 2022 AgrAbility National Training Workshop. Madison, Wisconsin.