The goal of this project is to develop a functional, multidisciplinary Network to address occupational health and safety issues among livestock workers. This broad, cross-disciplinary Network will build on the group’s diversity of skills, experiences, and knowledge in order to translate research, deliver education, and act as a surveillance stream for emerging occupational health and safety concerns in livestock production. …

The Return to Work project will create a mechanism to bring the realities of work on the farm to the clinic in a way that the clinician can review, understand and develop a transitional plan that will safely and promptly return the worker to the workplace. …

Dates: 2012 – current Our project aims to work on the following things: Identify the most important zoonotic diseases found in agricultural populations in Minnesota; Starting in 2012, determine how frequently agricultural workers are getting sick with these diseases every year; Study any new diseases that may be related to agriculture settings; …

This surveillance project focuses on injuries and illnesses in Wisconsin dairy farmers and workers, with particular emphasis on changes in the dairy industry and the effect these changes have on injury and illness patterns. The goal is to establish an active surveillance process using a recurring survey in order to inform policy and guide interventions designed to reduce the overall burden of injury and illness on this population. …

The overall objective of this study is to analyze long term patterns of S. aureus colonization and infection of swine veterinarians. The study will include both methicillin resistant (MRSA) and methicillin susceptible (MSSA) strains of S. aureus, which will be typed to determine whether they are livestock associated strains. …

The overall objective of this project is to determine how different practices implemented by farmers when raising hogs impact the working environment and exposure to workers. The focus of this project is to characterize risks to pork production workers associated with two main occupational health issues: injuries and airborne exposures in the working environment. …

The Seguridad en las lecherias project will employ a popular education model that builds on experiential learning approaches relevant to the everyday lives of workers. The goal of this project is to bridge the gap in worker health and safety training in dairy production, by testing a culturally appropriate, occupational safety and health intervention to reduce worksite hazards and to improve knowledge and practices among immigrant dairy workers in Wisconsin. …