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In addition to the usual risks of farm work, adolescents may be at even greater risk by not using personal protective equipment or not having access to machinery that is properly equipped for maximum protection. Health care providers should incorporate advice to adolescents and their parents on risk reduction, particularly on the use of personal protective equipment.

Objective-Develop and test a farm health and injury prevention educational intervention for high school agriculture students. Setting-Twenty one high schools in Kentucky, Iowa, and Mississippi. Methods-A quasiexperimental crossover design was used to test the eVectiveness of two sets of instructional materials designed through participatory action research with agriculture teachers and students. Narrative simulations based on farm work stories and simulations of farm work while students pretended to have a disability were completed in 14 schools (n = 373) over the academic year. Students in seven control schools (n = 417) received no intervention but completed, in the same time frame as students in the treatment schools, demographic surveys and premeasures and post-measures of farm safety attitudes and intent to change safety behaviors. One year after the intervention, 29 students from the treatment group received farm visits to measure their farm safety behaviors. Results-Students engaged in hazardous work on farms. Thirty two were involved in tractor overturns and 11 had received injuries from rotating power take-oV mechanisms. One fourth reported hearing problems, and 21% had respiratory symptoms after working in dusty farm surroundings. Students who completed at least two physical and two narrative simulations of the Agricultural Disability Awareness and Risk Education (AgDARE) curriculum showed statistically significant positive changes in farm safety attitude and intent to change behaviors. Conclusions-Adolescents engage in farm work that places them at risk for injury and illness. The AgDARE curriculum may be an eVective and eYcient method of teaching farm safety in high school agriculture classes. (Injury Prevention 2001;7(Suppl I):i59-63)

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