Development and Evaluation of a Basic First Aid Curriculum for Spanish-Speaking Dairy Workers

. Over the past decade, the New York State dairy industry has grown substantially, resulting in an increase in immigrant workers who speak languages other than English. Estimates suggest that over 50% of workers on large New York dairies are Spanish-speaking individuals who immigrated to the U.S. from Guatemala, Mexico, and other Latin American countries. With a growing population of Spanish-speaking workers, safety concerns on farms have become a prominent issue. This article reviews the development and evaluation of a basic dairy first aid curriculum, which is intended to educate Spanish-speaking immigrant dairy workers on emergency response and first aid. The materials developed are culturally relevant and can be easily understood by low-literacy, non-English-speaking workers. In evaluation of the materials using pre- and post-testing, a significant knowledge gain was identified in workers who participated in the training.