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SW Ag Center Awarded $7 million for Agricultural Health and Safety

TYLER (August 30, 2022) – The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) awarded the Southwest Center for Agricultural Health, Injury Prevention, and Education (SW Ag Center) a five-year grant to conduct research and outreach to improve the safety and health of agricultural, commercial fishing, and forestry workers (AgFF).  This will be the sixth consecutive five-year award from NIOSH for the SW Ag Center. Center Director, Vanessa Casanova, PhD, said, “We are proud to bring over $7 million dollars to region over the next five years to address AgFF worker health and safety”.

 

Over the next five years, researchers will investigate the role of organic dust in lung inflammation and characterize worker health status on western US dairy farms. An intervention project will address health disparities among commercial fishermen and a surveillance project will integrate motor vehicle crash and injury data in AgFF sectors. Outreach activities will develop pragmatic approaches to move research findings and best practices into the workplace. Early-stage professionals from the region can benefit from feasibility study funding, outreach mini grants, internships, practicum experiences, and capstone projects supported by the SW Ag Center. For more information visit www.swagcenter.org.

 

About the SW Ag Center
The Southwest Center for Agricultural Health, Injury Prevention, and Education was created in 1995 at The University of Texas at Tyler Health Science Center to serve Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas as part of a program initiative of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The initiative established centers to conduct research and outreach to reduce occupational injuries and illnesses among agricultural workers and their families.

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