Evaluation findings of an agricultural health and safety community leadership development process

The University of Illinois Cooperative Extension Service used a community leadership development strategy to increase citizen involvement and participation directed toward rural and agricultural safety and health issues. The project sought to involve farmers, farm families, farmworkers, and agricultural and rural public and private sectors in committees to identify local safety and health concerns. The committees then planned, implemented, and evaluated programs directed toward those concerns. The committees were established using a local agricultural agency and were linked to an infrastructure of support resources including project staff, regional medical centers, and a coalition of regional and state organizations and agencies. Qualitative and descriptive findings from four years of activity in seven target counties are presented.