A Guide to the Design of Occupational Safety and Health Training for Immigrant, Latino/a Dairy Workers

Abstract

Industrialized dairy production in the U.S. relies on an immigrant, primarily Latino/a, workforce to meet greater production demands. Given the high rates of injuries and illnesses on U.S. dairies, there is pressing need to develop culturally appropriate training to promote safe practices among immigrant, Latino/a dairy workers. To date, there have been few published research articles or guidelines specific to developing effective occupational safety and health (OSH) training for immigrant, Latino/a workers in the dairy industry. Literature relevant to safety training for immigrant workers in agriculture and other high-risk industries (e.g., construction) was examined to identify promising approaches. The aim of this paper is to provide a practical guide for researchers and practitioners involved in the design and implementation of effective OSH training programs for immigrant, Latino/a workers in the dairy industry. The search was restricted to peer-reviewed academic journals and guidelines published between 1980 and 2015 by universities or extension programs, written in English, and related to health and safety training among immigrant, Latino/a workers within agriculture and other high-risk industries. Relevant recommendations regarding effective training transfer were also included from literature in the field of industrial–organizational psychology. A total of 97 articles were identified, of which 65 met the inclusion criteria and made a unique and significant contribution. The review revealed a number of promising strategies for how to effectively tailor health and safety training for immigrant, Latino/a workers in the dairy industry grouped under five main themes: (1) understanding and involving workers; (2) training content and materials; (3) training methods; (4) maximizing worker engagement; and (5) program evaluation. The identification of best practices in the design and implementation of training programs for immigrant, Latino/a workers within agriculture and other high-risk industries can inform the development of more effective and sustainable health and safety training for immigrant, Latino/a dairy workers in the U.S. and other countries.

Calf care personnel on dairy farms and their educational opportunities

“…Training programs have been described for those involved in the parlor, calving management, hoof trimming, and reproduction management, as well as calf rearing. In addition, studies have been done of the employees themselves to better understand the audience, particularly for worker safety training programs for this audience (Menger et al, 2016). However, little has been reported about calf care employees specifically.…”

“…Literacy levels, education, as well as language are important factors to consider when developing training programs (Arcury et al, 2010). When designing worker safety programs for the Hispanic audience, Menger et al (2016) summarized important considerations for effective training programs, included reading level, the avoidance of stereotypes, and the use of various strategies and learning aids to encourage comprehension. Juárez-Carrillo et al (2017) conducted focus groups with dairy employees to develop a program for farm safety.…”

Tailoring Safety Training Material to Migrant Farmworkers: An Ergonomic User-Centred Approach

“…Indeed, some studies have reported significant positive effects of training in terms of increased farmworkers' knowledge of OSH issues [12,13], whereas other studies have found no differences between trained and untrained participants [14][15][16][17]. Some authors have interpreted these contrasting results in light of the need to adapt the training materials to an audience of migrants [10,[18][19][20], considering particularly the content, layout and style of the graphics [21], to make safety communication more effective. A relevant contribution to reach this aim may come from ergonomics and its user-centred perspective in system design [22].…”

“…The reason for this is that when "researchers or developers use a narrower selection of usability measures for evaluating a system, they either (a) make some implicit or explicit assumptions about the relations between usability measures in the specific context or (b) run the risk of ignoring important aspects of usability" [32] (p. 351). In addition, it should be noted that most of this previous research regarding safety training for migrant farmworkers has dealt with the efficacy of training interventions addressing migrants of Latino/Hispanic origin in a US context [19]. However, the literature has overlooked other cultural contexts, such as Europe, despite it being characterised by a high heterogeneity of cultures, languages and important migration fluxes.…”

Educational Interventions to Improve Safety and Health Literacy Among Agricultural Workers: A Systematic Review

“…Among the farming population, there are specific types of workers, such as migrants, who are often employed in agriculture [22] and as such are exposed to occupational hazards and risks [23]. Low levels of education, diversity of language, young age and lack of experience are characteristics that differentiate the specific needs in terms of agricultural training and approaches to health safety training for this type of agricultural worker [24,25]. Apart from migrants, there are other populations that are affected by agriculture hazards, such as women and youth.…”