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UMASH Success Story: Preventing Needlestick Injuries

UMASH Success Story: Preventing Needlestick Injuries

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THE PROBLEM:

Needlestick injury research shows that over 80% of farm workers and 73% of swine veterinarians working in animal agriculture have accidentally stuck themselves. Vaccines are the most common type of product involved.

Needlestick injuries are usually minor, however depending on the product, they can be serious causing:

  • Skin infections
  • Allergic reactions
  • Deep tissue wounds that require surgery
  • Miscarriages due to hormone products
  • Serious cardiovascular events

Success Story PDF

Success Story PDF

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THE SOLUTION:

UMASH addressed the problem of needlestick injury by developing educational tools for farm managers, workers and veterinarians. These resources include bilingual (English and Spanish) training videos for both dairy and swine operations and accompanying fact sheets which describe in more detail the do’s and don’ts when handling sharps.

THE IMPACT:

  • Featured in publications including Hoard’s Dairyman, National Hog Farmer, Midwest Marketer, Bovine Veterinarian and others.
  • Used by veterinarian supplier for training on safe handling of pharmaceuticals on dairies.
  • Requests to co-brand the resources for greater use and distribution.
  • Videos have been used with mobile technology (iPads) to train 2,000 dairy workers on site in SW United States.
  • Included in the OSHA Guidance Documents for Dairy Local Emphasis Program in Wisconsin.
  • The sharps disposal factsheet to provided guidance on safe disposal of sharps on the farm.
  • Nearly 300 people joined the Needle Know How webinar which advised hog producers about proper needle usage and worker safety with administration techniques.
  • The bilingual (English and Spanish) needlestick prevention videos have over 6,400 views on our YouTube channel.

These resources have been featured in various trade journals, radio features and a webinar hosted by AgriSafe. In addition, the fact sheets were incorporated into the OSHA Guidance Documents for Dairy Local Emphasis Program in Wisconsin.