The long-term objective of this evaluation project is assist farm safety advocates in adapting the North American Guidelines for Childhood Agricultural Tasks (NAGCAT), so that they are appropriate to farm families from ethnic minority communities in the U.S. The project's primary research goals are to: 1. Develop a set of evaluation criteria by which the cultural appropriateness and the effectiveness of the existing NAGCAT guidelines when used with a cultural minority group can be measured; and 2. Describe a process for the adaptation of future guidelines that are tailored to the needs of ethnic communities. The five specific aims of the research project are to: 1. Examine the extent and nature of child agricultural labor in farm families of Hmong origin in the Upper Midwest; (the Hmong, refugees to the United States from Laos in the 1970s and 1980s, comprise the second largest ethnic minority in Minnesota.) 2. Investigate culture-specific health behavior patterns and culturally-appropriate health promotion methods for farm families of Hmong origin; 3. Evaluate the NAGCAT for applicability and appropriateness for farm families of Hmong origin; 4. Produce recommendations for adapting the Guidelines to be more culturally appropriate to Hmong farm families; and 5. Design a health education vehicle that presents at least three of the NAGCAT guidelines through messages and in media tailored specifically for Hmong audiences. The research design for this non-experimental evaluation study combines quantitative and qualitative research methods. The project will use a variety of methods, including extensive literature review and analysis of secondary data; semi-structured individual and group interviews; focus groups; content analysis; and assessments of childrens' physical and developmental capabilities.
| Schermann, Michele A; Bartz, Penny; Shutske, John M et al. (2007) Orphan boy the farmer: evaluating folktales to teach safety to Hmong farmers. J Agromedicine 12:39-49 |
| Schermann, Michele A; Shutske, John M; Rasmussen, Ruth C et al. (2006) Characteristics of children's agricultural tasks in Hmong farming communities. J Agromedicine 11:121-32 |
