Collaboration between nurses and agricultural teachers to prevent adolescent agricultural injuries: the Agricultural Disability Awareness and Risk Education Model.

Nearly 2 million children live or work on America's farms and ranches. Despite the increasing mechanization of production agriculture in the United States, children still constitute a considerable portion of the work force on farms and ranches. When adjusted for actual work exposure time, adolescent injury rates on agricultural establishments surpass those of adults (Castillo, D. N., Landen, D. D., & Layne, L. A. (1994). American Journal of Public Health, 84, 646-649). This project, headed by two public health nurses, developed and tested an agricultural safety curriculum [Agricultural Disability Awareness and Risk Education (AgDARE)] for use in high school agriculture classes. Students who participated in AgDARE scored significantly higher in farm safety attitude and intent to change work behavior than the control group. School and public health nurses, working together with agriculture teachers, may make an effective team in reducing injuries among teen agricultural workers.