Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Rural And Agricultural Natural Disaster Stress And Recovery Study: Identifying Experiences And Community Preferences, Kristin K. Gaffney

Capstone Experience

Objective: The Rural Natural Disaster Stress and Recovery study surveyed flood and tornado affected residents (N=159 for analysis) in Arkansas and Nebraska, U.S., to address three hypotheses: 1) agricultural producers have different stress and recovery experiences compared to non-agricultural counterparts, 2) rural residents prefer community resources over external resources for disaster stress relief, and 3) communities can provide effective emotional health supports after disaster.

Methods: Demographics, exposure, stress, and recovery measures, and a resource use and effect inventory were analyzed in SAS with Chi-square tests, t-tests, Wilcoxon tests, and multiple linear regression modeling to identify differences between agricultural and non-agricultural …

A Preliminary Analysis Of Project Ag Aware: Sbirt In Agricultural Work Settings, Rachel L. Rutt

Capstone Experience

Background: An increasing number of individuals are being negatively affected by substance abuse in the U.S. and Nebraska communities. These communities are seeing immense increases in opioid prescribing rates, especially in rural areas. The aims of this study are to 1) describe the study population of agricultural workers in Nebraska; 2) estimate the prevalence of alcohol misuse, illegal drug use, and anxiety among agricultural workers in Nebraska; and 3) examine factors associated with alcohol misuse among agricultural workers in Nebraska.

Methods: Adult agricultural workers (N=1,206) completed a paper or online survey for Project Ag Aware. Alcohol misuse, illegal drug use, …

An Assessment Of Occupational Heat Stress In A Central Utility Plant, Abdoulaye Abdoulaziz

Capstone Experience

Global climate change has been declared a threat to human health, which includes occupational safety issues. As temperatures continue to increase, heat stress and heat-related illness are occupational safety issues that need to be better understood. Assessments of workplace heat exposures are key to implement appropriate health and safety interventions. This study attempted to assess whether workers’ perception of work environment temperature in a Central Utility Plant was associated with heat-stress prevention behaviors. Therefore, we used a questionnaire to collect Central Utility Plant employees’ demographic characteristics, data regarding their perceived work environment temperatures, and their behaviors related to preventing heat-related …