Agricultural Safety and Health: Principles and Possibilities for Nursing Education

An Occupational Health Nursing Education Program

A collaborative effort between community health faculty in an upper division nursing program and nurses from a nearby agricultural health and research center resulted in an educational program focused on occupational health and safety issues in the agricultural industry. The 3 hour class was presented each semester between 1997 and 1999 to RN students enrolled in a community health organization class. In addition to information about the health and safety hazards in agriculture, the nursing students learned about the center's research projects and clinical services available to the farming community. A follow up survey was mailed to the nursing students to evaluate the effectiveness and relevance of the occupational health program by identifying the proportion of the nurses' caseloads spent on occupational health problems, and whether the information and materials presented in the class were relevant to practice. Results showed that even though the surveyed nurses were employed in nonoccupational practice settings, nearly everyone rated the occupational health information as useful. Findings also revealed that although nurses in nonoccupational practice can spend nearly a quarter of their time caring for clients with work related health problems, they may lack adequate educational preparation to do so.

Nurses' Agricultural Education in the Southeastern United States

The number of nurses across the United States with expertise in agricultural health nursing is unknown, yet as many as 8,000 are needed. This article describes agricultural health content in nursing programs in the southeastern United States. Agriculture is primarily family based but ranks among the top three most hazardous industries in America. Nurses in the southeastern United States serve more than 541,000 farm families, more than a quarter of the nation's agricultural population. A 15-item survey was mailed to 185 nursing schools located within 13 southeastern states. Information was requested about undergraduate and graduate curricula that included information about agricultural health and safety. Surveys were returned from 113 programs (61.1%). Schools with larger percentages of rural students were more likely to include mention of agricultural health; however, scant attention was given to any rurally focused content. In 27.4% of the schools, no mention of agricultural health issues was made, and 54.0% of nursing faculty who completed the survey were not aware of the need for nurses with agricultural health expertise. Results suggested that, when agricultural health topics were presented in class, student interest in the topic increased. Given the occupational hazards faced in agriculture and the region's economic dependence on agriculture, increased attention should be focused on agricultural health content within nursing programs.