Livestock handling injuries represent a significant injury burden in agriculture to farmers and their families. This burden is magnified during wildfire events as ranchers quickly respond to re-locate their livestock during an emergency. While an emergency preparedness safety training model using influential community members has been recommended to overcome farmers’ perceived barriers to implementation of safety practices, it has not been determined if this type of program will improve the livestock-handling safety behaviors of farmers and ranchers faced with extreme challenges of wildfire in the intermountain west.
The objective of this project is to determine how community emergency preparedness to evacuate livestock during wildfire events can be leveraged to reduce injuries to youth who work with livestock. Researchers hope to understand how the integration of two community-focused emergency preparedness interventions (MyPI and RFDASH) may provide a sustainable impact on intermediate behavioral and environmental health outcomes for livestock producers of Utah. The central hypothesis is that integrating the involvement of adults and youth within multiple levels of communities will yield a prevention strategy that improves agricultural workplace safety for working and nonworking youth on farms.
Full project title: Agricultural Safety Training Through Emergency Preparedness (AgSTEP): One Community Collaborative
Funded by: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
Funding period: 2022-2027
Free Guide: Veterinary Clinic Safety Culture Workbook
February 2024, Utah — Veterinary staff health and safety are of primary importance to the profession. Although this is inherently understood, oftentimes, staff safety is not given the time and resources needed to promote a safe work environment free from unnecessary risks or exposures. This handbook educates clinic leaders on valuing and creating a safety culture in practice as well as implementing appropriate safety policies and procedures. Download free safety culture workbook here.
Congrats Utah Trainers!
June 2023, South Jordan, Utah — This week, the initial delegation of instructors within the Utah Youth Preparedness Initiative, MyPI Utah, completed a comprehensive certification and training workshop led by the MyPI National Coordination Team, and became the 27th state/territory-level program to train instructors under the national project umbrella. Learn more about MyPI Utah.
Principal Investigator
Principal Investigator
Associate Professor
Utah State University
Applied Sciences, Technology, Education