Implementation of dairy biosecurity and biosafety training for farm workers utilizing Virtual Reality program
College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Clinical Sciences
Larimer
County
(El Paso, Mesa, Weld, Yuma)
- Agriculture
- Equal time spent on-campus and in the field
Primary Topic:
Agriculture
Other Topics:
Agriculture
Internship Overview:
Agricultural workers are vital to global food security but face many unique threats that can compromise their health and productivity. The dairy industry is a high-risk occupation with threats arising from several sources, including physical injuries, chemicals, respiratory irritants, and infectious diseases. Farmers face daily exposure to livestock-associated microorganisms as well as injuries in every aspect of their work. Virtual reality (VR) technology as a teaching tool in agriculture settings is catching up and advancing as the education system is exploring the virtual world. The internship program will involve utilizing the appropriate PPE use program in VR to train the dairy workers in biosafety and biosecurity. VR is an immersive, more engaging, and realistic method that would mimic agricultural worker safety scenarios to enable users to practice and learn without real-life consequences. To the best of our knowledge, this VR program sets the stage for future efforts aimed at use of VR technology in training and educating livestock farm personnel in appropriate PPE use and infection prevention among essential workers.
Goals, Scope and Objectives:
The overarching goal of this project is to utilize innovative Virtual Reality tool to train livestock workers and producers on appropriate use of personal protective equipment (PPE) for zoonotic disease prevention. The outcomes of this project will contribute to a larger scope of implementing effective biosecurity and biosafety practices within the farm environment. The training tool surrounds One Health impact incorporating two important focuses- reducing risk of occupational illness in workers and supporting a safe food supply.
The objectives are to 1) utilize VR training program for dairy farmers on good biosecurity/ biosafety/infection control practices within the farm environment 2) Evaluate the likeability, feasibility, and applicability of interactive VR for training farm personnel.
The objectives are to 1) utilize VR training program for dairy farmers on good biosecurity/ biosafety/infection control practices within the farm environment 2) Evaluate the likeability, feasibility, and applicability of interactive VR for training farm personnel.
With which stakeholder group(s) will the intern work?
The stakeholders will be dairy farmers and workers. Farms will be enrolled on a voluntary basis and owners and/or managers will be presented with a consent letter. Researchers and extension personnel will strictly adhere to biosecurity protocols. Up to 20 farmers and workers from at least 5 dairy farms will be recruited and provided the PPE use training. A questionnaire survey will be provided to them to collect data on their likeability, feasibility, and applicability of the program.
This project will promote and improve appropriate and responsible PPE use among dairy farms in Front Range Colorado dairies as well as provide proof-of-concept for other dairy farms within the U.S. The findings will also bring awareness on infection prevention behaviors of personnel within the farms. The findings will also shed light on strengths and weaknesses of current training programs and facilitate future research and development of training tools in this important area. Data derived will reveal gaps in the VR module. The information will be used to modify the VR module.
This project will promote and improve appropriate and responsible PPE use among dairy farms in Front Range Colorado dairies as well as provide proof-of-concept for other dairy farms within the U.S. The findings will also bring awareness on infection prevention behaviors of personnel within the farms. The findings will also shed light on strengths and weaknesses of current training programs and facilitate future research and development of training tools in this important area. Data derived will reveal gaps in the VR module. The information will be used to modify the VR module.
What student learning outcomes do you anticipate and what are the opportunities for professional development?
The student intern, with this project will have a very good platform to gain experience in training dairy workers and producers from Front Range Colorado in appropriate biosafety and infection control methods using already developed VR program. They will learn to be independent with respect to communicating with farm owners/ managers, visit farms with the team and assist with training the dairy personnel on infection control/ biosafety/ biosecurity practices using the VR tool. They will review and synthesize the data on VR use, assist with data collection in Qualtrics. They will also help with analyzing the usefulness and likeability of the tool. Overall, the student will learn to be a leader in utilizing technological application to train the farm personnel. The intern will be preferred to be proficient in Spanish language to speak to the dairy workers, but it is not a requirement. They will also assist with any data entry and validation processes involved. The intern will be selected with a background and interest in epidemiology, either from DVM or MPH or MS/PhD program.
