Seven pilot grants designed to improve the health of farmers, ranchers and their families were awarded to researchers in Nebraska, Iowa and Indiana by the Central States Center for Agricultural Safety and Health (CS-CASH), an agricultural safety and health center at UNMC’s College of Public Health.
Funding for these awards originate from the National Institutes of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the UNMC Vice Chancellor of Research Jennifer Larson, M.D.
Awardees and their projects are:
- Jennifer Abrahams, M.D., and Dillon Clarey, M.D., UNMC Department of Dermatology. Title: Teledermatology and Improving Access to Care for Agricultural Populations
- Jan Moore, Ph.D., University of Nebraska at Kearney Department of Communication Disorders. Title: Healthy Hearing, Healthy Aging.
- Michele Bever, Ph.D., South Heartland District Health Department. Title: Promoting a Culture of Health and Wellness in the Rural Ag Community. A Collaborative Approach.
- Jana Davidson, Progressive Agriculture Foundation. Title: Building a Young Farmer Mental Health Toolkit: Developing a Crucial Resource to Support Youth Living in Rural Communities.
- Mahmoud Nour, Purdue University Graduate Student. Title: Implementing a Surveillance System for Farm-related Injuries and Fatalities Involving Livestock Manure Storage, Handling and Transport Operations with Summary and Implications.
- Kelley Donham, D.V.M., Rural Health and Safety of Eastern Iowa. Title: Modeling Improved Access to Health Screening of Ag Populations Through Deployment of a Mobile Clinic and Networking with a Rural Health Care Network
- Carolyn Sheridan, Ag Health and Safety Alliance. Title: New ATV Safety Design Features: Examining Cultural Acceptability and Piloting an Educational Intervention among Midwestern Youth in Agriculture
The CS-CASH Pilot Grants Program supports project investigators with awards of up to $20,000 over an 18-month period. The program goal is to enable investigators to collect preliminary data to support submission of grant applications for independent, longer-term, projects related to agricultural safety and health.
The projects selected for support by this program must address a critical issue in agricultural safety and health and lead to a more extensive study of the issue.
The Pilot Projects Program has been an essential component of the CS-CASH since the center was established in 2011. In addition to NIOSH funding, funding from UNMC’s Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research has allowed CS-CASH to fund 52 pilot projects from 2011 through 2019.
Data from pilot projects have been used to generate more than $9.8 million in additional funding related to agricultural safety and health. Programs and curriculum developed as part of this program continue to impact farmers and ranchers, their families, and communities.
Applications for the next round of pilot grants will be in April. Contact ellen.duysen@unmc.edu Ellen Duysen for information.