Using Social Marketing to Address Barriers and Motivators to Agricultural Safety and Health Best Practices

Abstract

Social marketing is an intervention development strategy that pays considerable attention to barriers to and motivators for behavioral change or adoption of recommended behaviors. Barriers are obstacles that prevent individuals from changing or adopting behaviors and are often referred to as the "cons" or "costs" of doing something. Motivators, on the other hand, are factors that encourage individuals to change or adopt behaviors and are often referred to as the "pros," "benefits," or "influencing factors" of doing something. Importantly, social marketing does not target education or knowledge change as an end point; rather, it targets behavior change. Studies across several types of desired behaviors (e.g., smoking cessation, weight control, more exercise, sunscreen use, radon testing) using the Stages of Change model have found systematic relationships between stages of change and pros and cons of changing behavior. A review of literature identifies numerous research and intervention studies that directly reference social marketing in agricultural safety and health, studies that identify reasons why parents allow their children to be exposed to hazardous situations on the farm, and reasons why youth engage in risky behaviors, but only two studies were found that show evidence of systematically researching specific behavioral change motivating factors. The authors offer several suggestions to help address issues relating to social marketing and agricultural safety and health.

Identifying Topics and Dissemination Methods for Agricultural Safety and Health Messages

“…The approach based on social marketing principles defines population segments, identifies their needs, develops intervention approaches responding to the needs, and delivers information using the most effective communication channels for each population segment. Data were collected by various methods to identify barriers and motivators leading toward healthier and safer farmers [21][22][23][24].…”

Concept Identification for a Power Take-Off Shielding Campaign

“…This supports previous efforts in agriculture, which utilized targeted messages to address topics such as tractor overturns, aging farmers, and youth safety. [18][19]25 Small-group discussions with farmers indicated that the initial encounter with a message must be thought-provoking, as they have many things vying for their attention. These triad sentiments were similar to those identified in the concept testing of tractor safety messages in New York.…”

“…18, 19 A review by Gordon et al 16 concludes that social marketing methods can be applied to a wide range of target populations, settings, and topic areas. Within agriculture, social marketing efforts directed at youth safety initiatives and retrofitting tractors for rollover protective structures (ROPS) have proven successful.…”

“…Within agriculture, social marketing efforts directed at youth safety initiatives and retrofitting tractors for rollover protective structures (ROPS) have proven successful. 19 In both cases, researchers not only considered the motivators and barriers to behavior change, but also used the Transtheoretical Model 20 to describe the willingness of the target population to change. 19 Although efforts to increase PTO shielding have been minimally successful in the past, a social marketing approach provides numerous opportunities for addressing previous behavior change challenges.…”

“…19 In both cases, researchers not only considered the motivators and barriers to behavior change, but also used the Transtheoretical Model 20 to describe the willingness of the target population to change. 19 Although efforts to increase PTO shielding have been minimally successful in the past, a social marketing approach provides numerous opportunities for addressing previous behavior change challenges. To be specific, social marketing requires a thorough understanding of the farmers' opinions and beliefs about PTO shielding.…”