THURS-118 - Youth Working in Agriculture in the United States: Motivators and Barriers for Using Interventions

Brief Abstract Summary: Learn current trends in youth agricultural work, health, and safety as well as associated health and safety interventions in the United States. Data from the perspective of adults in spaces overseeing youth working in agriculture and recommendations to improve the use of health and safety interventions will be shared.

Detailed abstract description: Agricultural work is one of the most dangerous occupations for youth in the United States. Since 2009, more youth have died working in agriculture than all other industries combined (NCCRAHS, 2022). From 2011 to 2017, 81% of occupational fatalities to youth 15–17 years old were in the Agricultural, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting sector (Guerin, Castillo, Hendricks, Howard, Piacentio, & Okun, 2020). Between 2016 and 2021, 270 fatal injuries were documented in news reports across the United States (Weichelt, Gorucu, Burke, Salzwedel, Murphy, & Lee, 2022). Analysis of US news media reports identified 278 non-fatal injuries between 2016 and 2021 (Weichelt et al., 2022). Youth agricultural injuries are a significant burden on our public health system with an estimated annual cost of $2.29 billion (2024-value dollars; Zaloshnja, Miller, & Lawrence, 2012).
In response, the National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety developed the Agricultural Youth Work Guidelines (AYWG), an intervention used by adults overseeing youth working in agriculture to assess the match between developmental capabilities of a youth and tasks requirements. Driven by principles of program evaluation, this study assesses motivators and barriers for implementation of the AYWG intervention.
Results from a mixed-methods study identified barriers and motivators for using AYWG and will provide recommendations for other interventions. Qualitative analysis of interviews with community organizations was completed using principles of grounded theory. Coding included open, axial, and thematic coding processes in MAXQDA. Data from a survey using results from the qualitative analysis was developed and administered to parents and supervisors working with youth in agriculture. Data was collected through in-person surveys at agricultural events around the country and through select online invitations. Data were collected using REDCap and analyzed using Stata. Descriptive analytics on key variables will be presented.

Results:
Motivators and Barriers: 102 individuals working with children in an agricultural environment completed the survey. Initial analysis reveals the highest rated motivators include:
-Being able to provide a safe environment for children (m = 4.44; sd = 1.15)
-Being compliant with best safety practices (m = 4.36; sd = 1.05)
-Having financial incentives (e.g., lower insurance premiums if used; m = 4.35; sd = 1.06)
Initial analysis of barriers reveal the following highest rated barriers:
-Their child knows how to do tasks safely (m = 3.41; sd = 1.04)
-Guidelines are hard to understand (m = 2.80; sd = 1.17)
-I don’t have time to learn (m = 2.73; sd = 1.13)
Respondents reported several recommendations based on their lived experience implementing the intervention with working youth. These recommendations highlight proposed steps to overcome barriers and leverage motivators that may be applied to other interventions.