Evaluation

COVID-19 Response: Cross-Center COVID-19 Evaluation Task Force

Sebastian Galindo and Cassandra Ward of the Evaluation Program initiated and implemented a COVID-19 Evaluation Task Force with evaluation and outreach professionals from NIOSH and all 11 NIOSH Agricultural Health and Safety Centers. Beginning in early April 2020, the group met every Friday to address the urgent matter of identifying and responding to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on AgFF workers across the U.S. The group brainstormed about tools to collect data on the new needs of the target audience created by COVID-19. Two survey questionnaires were created by SCCAHS evaluation and distributed online through Qualtrics.

Extension Professionals

Purpose/Methods. Extension is a key partner of the Center that serves as a reliable source of evidence-based information for AgFF workers that can help provide critical insight in understanding emerging issues and challenges spawned by the COVID-19 pandemic. To gauge perceptions of how the pandemic has impacted their personal and professional lives and the audiences they serve, an online questionnaire was developed. During the summer of 2020, the survey was distributed in 18 states and territories across the nation (Table 1) to explore preferred current Ag safety and health concerns communication methods, training needs and organizational capacity, effects on mental health, and the preparedness to respond to this unique emergency situation. In the SCCAHS region, the support of Extension leadership, use of personalized links,  and sending strategic reminder messages to complete the survey – including exploiting the FL-GA football rivalry – helped boost response rates. Data collected provides SCCAHS and Extension leadership with information that can be used for planning and development in addressing the needs of extension professionals and enhance their frontline response to the communities they serve now and during future emergencies.

Results. The following summary of findings is based on study participants from the SCCAHS

catchment area (n=831). The majority of respondents were County Agents and State Specialists, but many roles across Extension were represented from Administrators to Support Staff. Primary programmatic areas of focus were Agriculture (49.9%) and Youth (33.2%). The primary methods Extension professionals used to learn about COVID-19 were formal guidance documents, web-based platforms, and mass media (Figure 9). While ‘health-care providers’ was the primary source used by less than 1% of respondents, it was the most trusted source of information for COVID-19 prevention and treatment, followed by Extension and University administrators. Based on these findings, it is unsurprising that most respondents feel they have the information needed and were practicing strategies to protect themselves from contracting COVID-19. Only 13.5% reported visiting a NIOSH Agricultural Safety and Health Center website for information or resources on COVID-19. While this is not a positive finding, it reveals an opportunity to improve the reach and use of resources offered by the Center. Although little trust existed for ‘social media influencers’ as a source of information, social media was the most frequently used method to share information regarding COVID-19