Progress 09/15/09 to 09/14/10
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Activities - A combination of data collection techniques were used to establish need and confirm the benefits of farm safety education in Ohio Anabaptist communities. Focus groups in two different communities assisted project staff to identify the target age groups and day camp locations; focus group participants generated a list of potential safety topics to teach children. Two needs assessments were developed, one for youth audiences and the second for parents. Questions on the assessment tools were based on focus group data; such information was used to validate and generalize the smaller set of data to a larger population. Educational events offered in Ohio Amish communities included eight day camps, three keynote sessions during an Amish Health and Safety day, and two national presentations to academic peers. Events - Camps were implemented in multiple years in Geauga and Holmes counties. Services - Focus group discussions, needs assessments, and day camp planning committees were utilized to determine the need and value of ag safety education for Anabaptist children. On-going interactions within these communities has allowed project staff to earn trust and establish relationships, as well as become a useful resource for safety materials on a variety of topics. Service to existing businesses and agencies within these counties has also been cultivated through the safety project. A primary goal of the program was to connect local partners to participate in the planning, teaching, and implementation of community camps. The following partners were involved in the safety programs: Sheriff's departments, fire departments, county health departments, local hospitals, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, local school districts, the Amish Safety Committee of Holmes and Geauga counties, along with OSU Extension Specialists, Program Coordinators, and students in multiple discipline areas. Products -Lesson plan topics were developed based on information gained from focus groups and needs assessments. Lesson plans/educational poster topics included: roadway & buggy safety, grain bin safety, tractor and equipment safety, skid loader safety, insect safety, water safety, winter water safety for ice skating and ice fishing, hunter safety, livestock safety, ladder safety & climbing safely, chemical safety, safe handling of cleaners and chemicals, lawn & garden safety, general first aid, pedestrian safety, bicycle safety, roller blade safety, pony cart operation safety, and horse hitching safety. Dissemination - In the local communities, day camps were publicized through community news sources, as well as word of mouth. Flyers were also posted in selected locations to announce the youth safety opportunities that would be incorporated into the events. Newly developed curricula modules, specific for this target audience, were used by session leaders at each camp; the modules were formatted into a 3-ring binder and are available to other instructors interested in teaching safety sessions. Beyond the local communities, project results were published in proceedings of national conferences and in the journal Cases in Public Health Communication and Marketing. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals - Dee Jepsen served as Project Director and provided oversight to the Senior Associates. As the team leader she designed and implemented the pilot needs assessment, developed the focus group guides and served as focus group moderator at the Holmes/Wayne county session, developed the satisfaction evaluation instruments, coordinated the curriculum development processes, implemented the farm safety day camp programs, and assisted with data analysis from the multiple evaluations. In addition, Jepsen managed the fiscal and administrative aspects of the project, including attendance at the required grant meeting and submitting the annual report. Wayne Dellinger served as Program Manager (from 2007 - 2008) and maintained the day-to-day activities of the project. Dellinger's primary responsibility was the coordination and communication between stakeholder groups in the Anabaptist communities. Dellinger served as focus group moderator at the Geauga county session, reviewed curriculum modules, implemented the farm safety day camp programs, administered the needs assessment to Anabaptist parents in both counties, and administering the satisfaction surveys after the Geauga county day camp. Dellinger also attended and presented at the annual grant meeting in Washington D.C., as well as assisted with year-end project reports. Amy Beaudreault served as Program Coordinator (from 2007-2008) where she provided support for the Project Director and Program Manager. Beaudreault assisted with development of evaluation instruments, served as recorder for the focus groups, development of curriculum and curriculum resources, and conducted data analysis for all instruments. The following partners were involved in the safety programs: Sheriff's departments, fire departments, county health departments, local hospitals, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, local school districts, Safe Communities, Small Farm Institute, the Amish Safety Committee of Holmes and Geauga counties, along with OSU Extension Specialists, Program Coordinators, and students in multiple discipline areas. Two professional development sessions were offered to attendees of the National Institute for Farm Safety in years 2008 and 2010. TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audience for this project was Amish and Mennonite youth in rural and agricultural communities within Ohio. In addition to the youth, many Anabaptist families attended the lessons offered at the day camp sessions. Another audience targeted were the community agencies that serve this sector. Project efforts include the development of safety curricula for Anabaptist youth and implementation of eight day camp programs demonstrating these sessions as a viable methodology for creating awareness and teaching agricultural safety and health topics to Anabaptist youth. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
Project staff sought to identify hazards and exposure risks of Amish youth on farms and rural areas. Through a multi-faceted data collection approach, local Amish communities increased their knowledge about children's exposure to agricultural hazards. They identified the potential risks and confirmed a need to teach children about agricultural safety topics. The project staff also sought to measure the change in knowledge that occurred with youth attending the farm safety day camps. The Geauga county campers completed the satisfaction survey. The youth scored their experience very high with 78.6% wanting to come back next year. Youth indicated they learned a lot from the camp (100.0%) and liked the activities (92.9%). The OSU Agricultural Safety Office has been recognized as a trusted source for safety resources that are appropriate for Anabaptist youth audiences. The project staff has developed sustainable relationships within multiple Ohio communities based on results of these children safety camp sessions. Amish leaders, parents, and businessmen have consulted with project staff beyond the scope of this project on other safety related issues affecting their communities.
Publications
- Jepsen, D., 2010. Ag Safety Educational Resources for Amish Children. Program and electronic conference proceedings for the Annual Meeting of the National Institute for Farm Safety, Wilmington, NC.
- A. Beaudreault, S.D. Jepsen, W.A. Dellinger, 2009. Designing an Agricultural Safety Intervention Program for Ohio Amish Youth. The Journal of Cases in Public Health Communication & Marketing, Volume III, June 2009.
- Field, W., Jones, P., Burgus, S., Moyer, K., Dellinger, W., Jepsen, S. D., Reynolds, S., 2008. Farm Safety and Health Resources for Amish/Anabaptist Populations. Program and electronic conference proceedings for the Annual Meeting of the National Institute for Farm Safety, Lancaster, PA.
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Progress 09/15/08 to 09/14/09
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Activities - A poster session was presented at the Holmes County Health and Safety Day on lighting and marking of horse-drawn vehicles. Approximately 1,340 Amish attended this event and viewed the display. Additional questionnaires about youth exposure to agricultural hazards were collected from Amish families attending this Safety Day event; these 28 needs assessments were added to the database. Services - Discussions continued with Amish Safety Committees from Geauga, Holmes, and Wayne Counties, and Ashtabula county joined the group. These committees were interested in safety programs and assisted with connection to local partners to participate in the planning, teaching, and implementation of day camps. The following partners were utilized in the planning, teaching, and implementation of the safety program. Geauga County: Sheriff's Department, Middlefield Fire Department, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Safe Community director, local Amish, and OSU Extension. Holmes/Wayne County Committee: Sheriff's Department, Holmes County Health Department, District 1 Fire Department, Small Farm Institute director, Safe Community director, local Amish, and OSU Extension. Ashtabula County: Sheriff's Department, Ohio State Patrol, Middlefield Fire Department, Safe Community director, Ohio Depart Public Safety liaison, and OSU Extension. No camp was scheduled in 2009 for Ashtabula, but efforts for a 2010 camp are possible. Project staff met with the Superintendent of East Holmes school district to discuss school program assemblies and activities. East Holmes is a unique public school system in that the majority of its students are Anabaptist children. Events - Full day camps were implemented in two Ohio locations: Geauga County Health and Safety Day and Holmes County Farm Family Field Day. An educational session was taught at an existing day camp, where 5th grade Mennonite children attended beside their "English" classmates. Products - From past data collection efforts, project staff developed lesson plans for Amish youth audiences. New curriculum added during this grant period included: pedestrian safety and climbing safety. Dissemination - Amish safety day camps were publicized through word of mouth for both camp events. Flyers were also posted in selected locations within the communities to announce the youth safety opportunities that would be incorporated into the events. The Holmes County school based day camp was a scheduled school outing with selected schools in the county, including the East Holmes district. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals - Dee Jepsen served as Project Director and provided oversight to the Senior Associate and student worker. As the team leader she designed and implemented the new curriculum modules, taught educational sessions at the Holmes/Wayne county camp as well as the Holmes county school program. In addition, she attended yearly meetings with stakeholder groups and assisted with data analysis of needs assessment. Jepsen also managed the fiscal and administrative aspects of the project. Theresa Calip was added to the project for 20% of her time. She assisted the PI with stakeholder communications, implementing one of the day camps in Geauga county, and administered the needs assessment at the Holmes county Health and Safety Day. Tara Milliken, an undergraduate student, served an internship with the project summer and fall 2009 to gain experience on educational teaching and learning experiences for Anabaptist populations. Partner Organizations in Geauga County: Sheriff's Department, Middlefield Fire Department, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Safe Communities, local Amish, OSU Extension Partner Organizations in Holmes/Wayne County: Superintendent for East Holmes school district, Sheriff's Department, Holmes County Health Department, District 1 Fire Department, Small Farm Institute, Safe Communities, local Amish, and OSU Extension. Partner Organizations in Ashtabula County: Sheriff's Department, Ohio State Patrol, Middlefield Fire Department, Safe Community director, Ohio Depart Public Safety liaison, and OSU Extension. TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audience was Amish and Mennonite youth in rural and agricultural communities within Ohio. In addition to the youth, many Anabaptist families were exposed to the lessons offered at the larger Health and Safety Events. Another audience targeted were the community agencies that serve this sector. Project efforts include the development of safety curricula for Anabaptist youth and implementation of two day camp programs demonstrating these sessions as a viable methodology for creating awareness and teaching agricultural safety and health topics to Anabaptist youth. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: A no-cost extension was granted for the project. Senior Associate Theresa Calip was added to the project for 20% of time.
Impacts
Project staff sought to identify hazards and exposure risks of Amish youth on farms and rural areas. Through yearly meetings and additional data collection, project staff confirmed the need for continual safety programming. Input from Amish adults and youth assist project staff in developing safety related curriculum specific for the needs of Amish families.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 09/15/07 to 09/14/08
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Activities - A poster session was presented at the Holmes County Health and Safety Day presenting the results of last year's needs assessment. The results stimulated discussion between youth and their parents about safety topics and safety practices. Approximately 1,200 Amish attended this event and viewed the display. Services - Discussions continued with Amish Safety Committees from Geauga, Holmes, and Wayne Counties. These committees were interested in the safety program and assisted with connection to local partners to participate in the planning, teaching, and implementation. The following partners were utilized in the planning, teaching, and implementation of the safety program. Geauga County: Sheriff's Department, Middlefield Fire Department, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Safe Community director, local Amish, and OSU Extension. Holmes/Wayne County Committee: Sheriff's Department, Holmes County Health Department, District 1 Fire Department, Small Farm Institute director, Safe Community director, local Amish, and OSU Extension. A separate meeting was held with the Holmes County Amish Advisory committee, where 8 Amish leaders were present. During this meeting a general concern for roadway safety was expressed, specifically bicycle and pedestrian safety. An additional hazard and exposure risk of Amish youth was identified; it was pony cart safety. The Amish leaders were concerned that families were not properly marking pony carts with proper reflective materials, and were increasing the risk of their youth while operating carts on roads. Events - Day camps were implemented at the Geauga County Health and Safety Day and the Holmes County Farm Family Field Day. Both Events were held July 10, 2008. The format of the camps varied. Geauga County incorporated the camp within the Amish Health and Safety Day held at Mary Miller's farm near Middlefield, Ohio. Length was approximately 1.5 hours starting in the morning and running until the benefit auction. The Holmes/Wayne County camp was incorporated within the County Farm Family Field Day held at Henry Miller's farm near Millersburg, Ohio. The sessions repeated every 45 minutes throughout the day. A separate livestock safety session was added to the main speaker stage specifically for youth and family audiences. The OSU Livestock Specialist conducted this session, using lesson plans developed by this grant team. Products - From previous year's data collection efforts, project staff developed lesson plans for Amish youth audiences. New curriculum added during this grant period included: livestock safety, fishing safety, lawn equipment safety, chemical safety, and deadly chemical look a-likes. Dissemination - Amish safety day camps were publicized through word of mouth for both events. Flyers were also posted in selected locations within the communities to announce the youth safety opportunities that would be incorporated into the events. Information was shared with professional safety colleagues at the 2008 Annual Conference of the National Institute for Farm Safety through a panel discussion session. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals - Dee Jepsen served as Project Director and provided oversight to the Senior Associates. As the team leader she designed and implemented the pilot needs assessment, developed the focus group guides and served as focus group moderator at the Holmes/Wayne county session, developed the satisfaction evaluation instruments, coordinated the curriculum development processes, implemented one of the farm safety day camp programs (Holmes/Wayne county), and assisted with data analysis from the multiple evaluations. In addition, Jepsen managed the fiscal and administrative aspects of the project, including attendance at the required grant meeting and submitting the annual report. Wayne Dellinger served as Program Manager and maintained the day-to-day activities of the project. Dellinger's primary responsibility was the coordination and communication between stakeholder groups in the Anabaptist communities. Dellinger served as focus group moderator at the Geauga county session, reviewed curriculum modules, implemented one of the farm safety day camp programs (Geauga county), administered the needs assessment to Anabaptist parents in both Geauga and Holmes county, and administering the two satisfaction surveys after the Geauga county day camp. Dellinger resigned from his position and is currently funded on a NIOSH-sponsored grant. Amy Beaudreault served as Program Coordinator where she provided support for the Project Director and Program Manager. Beaudreault assisted with development of evaluation instruments, served as recorder for the two focus groups, development of curriculum and curriculum resources, and conducted data analysis for all instruments. Beaudreault resigned from her position at OSU. Partner Organizations in Geauga County: Sheriff's Department, Middlefield Fire Department, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Safe Communities, local Amish, OSU Extension Partner Organizations in Holmes/Wayne County: Sheriff's Department, Holmes County Health Department, District 1 Fire Department, Small Farm Institute, Safe Communities, local Amish, and OSU Extension. TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audience for this project was Amish and Mennonite youth in rural and agricultural communities within Ohio. In addition to the youth, many Anabaptist families will be exposed to the lessons offered at the day camp sessions. Another audience targeted were the community agencies that serve this sector. Project efforts include the development of safety curricula for Anabaptist youth and implementation of two day camp programs demonstrating these sessions as a viable methodology for creating awareness and teaching agricultural safety and health topics to Anabaptist youth. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Senior Associates Dellinger and Beaudreault resigned from their respective positions funded by this project. An undergraduate student was employed over the summer months to assist in curriculum development and survey analysis. The PI is currently active in the search process to replace the Senior Associate positions. At this time, no adverse affects to the project are expected in the vacancies. PI Jepsen has maintained communications with Amish populations and local agencies in the pilot tested communities.
Impacts
Project staff sought to identify additional hazards and exposure risks of Amish youth on farms and rural areas. Through yearly meetings and previously collected focus group and needs assessment data, project staff confirmed the need for safety programming in the areas of: skid loaders, pond/water, fishing, fire, manure/silo gases, insects, chainsaws, string trimmers, lawn mowers, horse/pony hitching, workhorse and livestock safety, tree stand (hunter) safety, pedestrian/rollerblading safety, general first aid, chemical exposure and safe handling of cleaners and chemicals, tractor safety, and pony cart operation safety. The project staff conducted a needs assessment with 420 Holmes county 5th graders comprised of both Amish and English students. The students were orally administered the survey during a session at the 5th grade farm tour on September 24, 2008 on the Amish farm of Jerry D. Miller. Results from this survey are currently under analysis. Information collected directly from Amish adults and youth assist project staff in developing safety related curriculum specific for the needs of Amish families.
Publications
- Burgus, S., Moyer, K., Reynolds, S., and Jepsen, D. 2008. Farm safety and health resources for Amish/Anabaptist populations. Program and Conference Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the National Institute for Farm Safety, Lancaster, PA (P19).
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Progress 09/15/06 to 09/14/07
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Activities - A needs assessments for youth and parents was pilot tested on August 29, 2006 at the Holmes/Wayne County Amish Health and Safety Day. Administration protocol and question applicability/interpretation was evaluated. Modifications were made and the final instrument was administered on July 21, 2007 to youth and parents attending the Geauga County Amish Health and Safety Day. Two independent focus groups were conducted for the two target counties. On May 30, 2007 project staff and 5 Amish representatives met for the Holmes/Wayne County focus group. On June 7, 2007 project staff and 7 Amish representatives met for the Geauga County focus group. At the conclusion of the day camp events, project staff developed evaluation instruments for two audiences. One tool was used with the youth campers, taking into consideration their age and reading level. The second tool was used with representatives from the agencies that assisted in the camp sessions. Events - Day camps
were implemented at the Geauga County Health and Safety Day and the Holmes County Farm Family Field Day. Both Events were held July 21, 2007. Services - Discussions were held with Amish Safety Committees from Geauga, Holmes, and Wayne Counties. It was determined that these committees were interested in the safety program and would assist with connection to local partners to participate in the planning, teaching, and implementation. The following partners were contacted and utilized in the planning, teaching, and implementation of the safety program. Geauga County included the Sheriff's Department, Middlefield Fire Department, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Amish, OSU Extension. Holmes/Wayne County Committee included the Sheriff's Department, Holmes County Health Department, District 1 Fire Department, Amish, and OSU Extension. The format of the camps varied. Geauga County incorporated the camp within the Amish Health and Safety Day held at Mary Miller's farm near Middlefield,
Ohio. Length was approximately two hours starting after morning speaker sessions and running concurrently with the benefit auction. The Holmes/Wayne County camp was incorporated within the County Farm Family Field Day held at Henry Miller's farm near Millersburg, Ohio. The sessions were repeated over the duration of the day on a rotating basis beginning at 9:00a.m. Four rotations of approximately one and a half hours were completed. Products - Project staff met initially to determine a possible preliminary list of potential exposure risks of Amish youth on farms and rural areas. Lesson plans were developed based on information gained from focus groups and needs assessments. Lesson plans included: roadway safety, grain bin safety, equipment safety, insect safety, pond safety, hunter safety, and horse hitching safety. Dissemination - Day camps were publicized greatly through word of mouth for both events. Within the Amish communities, this often is the best way. Flyers were also posted
in selected locations within the communities to announce the youth safety opportunities that would be incorporated into the events.
PARTICIPANTS: Individuals - Dee Jepsen served as Project Director and provided oversight to the Senior Associates. As the team leader she designed and implemented the pilot needs assessment, developed the focus group guides and served as focus group moderator at the Holmes/Wayne county session, developed the satisfaction evaluation instruments, coordinated the curriculum development processes, implemented one of the farm safety day camp programs (Holmes/Wayne county), and assisted with data analysis from the multiple evaluations. In addition, Jepsen managed the fiscal and administrative aspects of the project, including attendance at the required grant meeting and submitting the annual report. Wayne Dellinger served as Program Manager and maintained the day-to-day activities of the project. Dellinger's primary responsibility was the coordination and communication between stakeholder groups in the Anabaptist communities. Dellinger served as focus group moderator at the Geauga county
session, reviewed curriculum modules, implemented one of the farm safety day camp programs (Geauga county), administered the needs assessment to Anabaptist parents in both Geauga and Holmes county, and administering the two satisfaction surveys after the Geauga county day camp. Dellinger also attended and presented at the annual grant meeting in Washington D.C., as well as assist with year-end project reports. Amy Beaudreault served as Program Coordinator where she provided support for the Project Director and Program Manager. Beaudreault assisted with development of evaluation instruments, served as recorder for the two focus groups, development of curriculum and curriculum resources, and conducted data analysis for all instruments. Partner Organizations in Geauga County - Sheriff's Department, Middlefield Fire Department, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Amish, OSU Extension Partner Organizations in Holmes/Wayne County - Sheriff's Department, Holmes County Health Department,
District 1 Fire Department, Amish, and OSU Extension.
TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audience for this project was Amish and Mennonite youth in rural and agricultural communities within Ohio. In addition to the youth, many Anabaptist families will be exposed to the lessons offered at the day camp sessions. Another audience targeted were the community agencies that serve this sector. Project efforts include the development of safety curricula for Anabaptist youth and implementation of two day camp programs demonstrating these sessions as a viable methodology for creating awareness and teaching agricultural safety and health topics to Anabaptist youth.
PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: This project experienced a six-month process for securing Human Subjects approval from The Ohio State University's Institutional Review Board (IRB). The IRB committee required the project staff to develop all evaluation instruments (focus group discussion guide, needs assessment for youth, needs assessment for parents, camper satisfaction surveys, and agency satisfaction surveys), description of recruitment and solicitation of subjects (for each of the evaluation strategies), and extensive descriptions and locations of all human subjects interactions, especially when involving youth subjects. The IRB committee required that parental permission be acquired any time the project staff worked with the targeted youth audience. However, project staff did not consider this a delay to meet project objectives, it was merely out-of-sequence in the original Year 1 timeline. This school-based venue has been difficult to establish relations and contacts. The Amish school
board in the area of Logan county has been contacted and local law enforcement has been informed. Relationships are evolving, but have been slower than anticipated. Other areas within the state are being explored to implement the school based safety program in Year 2.
Impacts
Project staff sought to identify hazards and exposure risks of Amish youth on farms and rural areas. Through focus group data, participants identified the following topics as areas for safety programming: skid loaders, pond/water, fire, manure/silo gases, insects, chainsaws, string trimmers, horse/pony hitching, workhorse safety, tree stand (hunter) safety, pedestrian/rollerblading safety, and general first aid. Focus group data was validated from the parent administered needs assessment. Fifty percent or more of the parents attending the Geauga County Amish Health and Safety Day listed the following safety topics as important for their youth to receive training: tractors, horse-drawn equipment, hand tools, woodworking tools, stored feed, ponds/water, electricity, livestock, horses, chemicals, rollerblades/skates, skid loaders, poisonous plants, and severe weather. In the pilot test of this needs assessment, similar data were reported by Holmes/Wayne county parents.
Likewise fifty percent or more of the parents reported their children were exposed to the following more than one day a week: lawn mowers, generators, horse-drawn equipment, hand tools, wood working tools, ponds/water, livestock, horses, chemicals, bicycles, and ATV/skid loaders. The project staff also sought to measure the change in knowledge that occurred with youth attending the farm safety day camps. Only the Geauga county campers completed the satisfaction survey. The youth scored their experience very high with 78.6% wanting to come back next year. They indicated they learned a lot from the camp (100.0%) and liked the activities (92.9%). When asked if the teachers made learning fun, they responded Very Much (50.0%), Somewhat (21.4%), and Not at All (28.6%); the project staff will work with area instructors in Year 2 to make the teaching more exciting for the youth.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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