An Intervention to Reduce Occupational Health Risk from Antibiotic Resistant Pathogens Among Dairy Farm Workers

This intervention utilized the Health Belief Model and Theory of Planned Behavior to address the knowledge and social barriers that increase dairy farm workers' risk to antimicrobial-resistant infections. Dairy farm workers gained a significant increase in knowledge of the 8 desired outcomes, related to occupational health skills that reduce risks, from our intervention. Limited time was a major barrier as to why dairy farm workers felt like they could not make behavioral changes that would reduce their occupational health risk. Dairy farmworkers showed a strong likelihood of making workplace health-related behavioral changes, but their intention to change was weaker in areas of personal antibiotic stewardship.

This study focused on developing and evaluating an educational intervention designed to mitigate occupational health risks associated with pathogens and antibiotic-resistant bacteria among dairy farm workers. Data collected from farms and workers as part of a larger umbrella project that focused on dairy farm antibiotic use for cows and calves were used to inform elements of the Health Belief Model and the Theory of Planned Behavior, leading to eight intervention outcomes. The intervention targeted increased knowledge and promoted behavioral changes related to worker and workplace hygiene best practices, PPE use, biosecurity, and personal antibiotic stewardship. Educational materials included instructional videos, fact sheets in English and Spanish, and supplementary printed material, including illustrated take-home points, content summaries, and posters. The intervention was conducted with 32 workers from five dairy farms, using pre- and post-intervention assessments to measure knowledge gains and behavioral intentions. Results demonstrated statistically significant increases in knowledge across all targeted outcomes (p-value ≤ .001), with most participants showing a high willingness and likelihood to implement recommended behaviors related to their workplace exposures and best practices. However, participants indicated a greater reluctance to change around issues of personal antibiotic stewardship. Time constraints were the most significant and most consistent barrier to behavior change. The study highlights the importance of ongoing research and refinement of intervention strategies to address barriers and enhance protective practices among often underserved farmworkers in agriculture. These intervention strategies contribute to improved occupational health outcomes with benefits to public health by reducing the spread of antibiotic-resistant infections to the broader population.