Objective: Create a user-friendly, computer-based safety/health education program for the agricultural community sponsored by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, an Occupational Health Nurses in Agricultural Communities' Project.
Methods: Linkway Live! and Harvard Graphics were used to develop simplified programs requiring minimal instruction. "Test your farm safety IQ" from Successful Farmer was computerized to ascertain how people in the farming community respond to various types of farming accidents. Immediate feedback was provided by an on-screen prompt and the number of correct answers was given at the end of the program. A laptop computer allowed for better portability of the program to various sites in the target area. The range of ages for users was 12-60 years. All users required two to three minutes of instruction on the computer. Materials provided included computerized information, a graphic slide show and take-home information for reinforcement. The program, which was completed in ten minutes, was tested at six rural sites.
Results: The program's success was most evident in the 12-18 year age group. Response by this group indicated high interest levels in the subject area of farm safety. Also of note was potential for liason between educators and health professionals combining to enhance student education.
Conclusion: The future of computer usage as a teaching tool in agricultural safety and health demonstrates great promise and deserves further study.
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: B.S. Boylan, M. Auslander and L. Peaveler, Lincoln Trail District Health Dept., Elizabethtown, KY.
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