Agricultural Safety and Health: The Core Course

Agriculture ranks among the most hazardous industries. Farmers remain at very high risk for fatal and nonfatal injuries, and farming is one of the few industries in which family members (who often share the work and live on the premises) are also at risk for fatal and nonfatal injuries.

University of Iowa’s Great Plains Center for Agricultural Health has offered the Agricultural Safety and Health Core Course for over two decades, providing information and skills to physicians, nurses, veterinarians, industrial hygienists, safety and health managers, public health practitioners, and anyone interested in gaining the skills needed to anticipate, recognize, and prevent occupational illnesses and injuries among members of the agricultural community.

This year GPCAH offers a virtual course on June 1, 16, 23, and 30 with an in-person farm tour at Iowa State University on June 2. The tour is required for graduate student credit and is optional for all other participants. Continuing education credits will be available.

The course includes the following topics:

  • Occupational Safety and Health in Agriculture
  • Transportation Hazards in Agriculture
  • Use and Selection of Personal Protective Equipment
  • Implementing Prevention Practice Based on Biological Risk Assessment
  • Agricultural Injury
  • Pesticides
  • Rural Health and Safety: The Employer Perspective
  • Occupational Skin Disorders and Diseases of the Lungs in Agricultural Settings
  • Musculoskeletal Disorders Among Agricultural Workers
  • Ergonomics in Agriculture
  • Behavioral Health in Agricultural Populations
  • Cancer in Agricultural Populations
  • Medication Related Agricultural Injury
  • Telehealth
  • Emergency Preparedness
  • And more…

Register for the course at LINK and follow GPCAH on social media for updates at twitter.com/gpcah and facebook.com/gpcah.

If you are interested in the course but are unavailable to attend, GPCAH also offers online training in many of these topics. Visit https://gpcah.public-health.uiowa.edu/core-course-online-modules/ to learn more and sign up for a free account to view the training.

The mission of the GPCAH is to prevent agricultural injury and illness and improve safety and health among agricultural communities.

To accomplish this mission, the Center advances knowledge through scientific research and prevents agricultural injury and illness through education, outreach, and intervention programs.

The GPCAH is funded by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).  The NIOSH Agricultural Centers were established as part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) / NIOSH Agricultural Health and Safety Initiative in 1990. The Centers were established by cooperative agreement to conduct research, education, and prevention projects to address the nation’s pressing agricultural health and safety problems.  Geographically, the Centers are distributed throughout the nation to be responsive to the agricultural health and safety issues unique to the different regions.

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