Using mobile technology to increase safety awareness among dairy workers in the United States.
BACKGROUND
Modern U.S. dairy farm operations present multiple safety hazards which may result in worker injuries, illnesses and fatalities. The U.S. industry trend towards large-herd milking operations, especially in the Western U.S., necessitates an increased number of workers on each farm. The U.S. dairy workforce is comprised of an increasing percentage of immigrant workers with limited English proficiency which presents a safety training challenge. Our objective was to develop, deliver and evaluate safety awareness training to U.S. dairy farm workers using mobile tablets as a personal learning environment.


METHODS
A non-random sample of 1,436 dairy workers received safety awareness training on a mobile device platform. Kirkpatrick Levels 1, 2 and 3 training effectiveness evaluations were performed.


RESULTS
Approximately 58.7% of training participants received a middle school education, and 22.7% were from Guatemala who reported K'iche' as their native language. A statistically significant large effect size suggests safety knowledge was gained among training participants when comparing post-test scores to pre-test scores (Level-2). Training participants rated their training experience favorably (Level-1), and applied knowledge gained in their daily work activities three months after training (Level-3).


CONCLUSION
Our findings suggest the utilization of mobile learning techniques is an effective means to deliver safety awareness training content to dairy workers. Dairy worker safety training should be culturally, linguistically, and literacy appropriate and comprehensive in nature to include all applicable dairy safety hazards. Our observations support the use of mobile devices as just one component of a more comprehensive health and safety management program on farms.
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D000293:Adolescent D000328:Adult D000368:Aged D000818:Animals D002417:Cattle D034201:Computers, Handheld D003612:Dairying D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants D000067565:Farmers D005260:Female D006801:Humans D007802:Language D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D016272:Occupational Health D014481:United States
safety dairy training mobile learning m-learning