Farm Safety: A Tale of Translational Research and Collaboration

Children who live or work on farms are at a high risk for injury and death, yet few resources are available to reduce the danger of injury. Research findings establish the need for farm safety in preschool children. However, barriers to interventional research have limited the development of established strategies to help reduce the risk. For this project, Pender's Health Promotion Model served as the theoretical framework to support the prevention aspect of farm safety. Findings from two surveys of primary health care providers practicing in rural areas in Pennsylvania indicated a lack of materials to educate preschool children about farm safety. Using Woods and Magyary's translational model for research, this identified need resulted in a multidisciplinary team collaboration to develop an animated film entitled A Barnyard Story: Adventures in Farm Safety. The eight-minute film is an innovative child-centered intervention that addresses the gap in strategies to reduce farm injuries in preschool children. The development of this film illustrates the product development stage of research translation and is an example of diverse disciplines coming together for an important cause.