The impact of training on safety performance in agriculture: A scoping review
Estonian University of Life Sciences, Institute of Forestry and Engineering,
Chair of Biosystems Engineering, Str Fr. R. Kreutzwaldi 56/1, EE51006 Tartu, Estonia
*Correspondence: ragne.vaher@emu.ee
Abstract:
The aim
of the study was to analyse the effectiveness of occupational health and safety
(OHS) training methods on safety behaviour of farmers and agricultural workers
based on literature results. The scoping review intends to find out the main
gaps in teaching methodology influencing safety performance of employers and
employees in agriculture. A systematic search of literature with help of
predefined search strings (agriculture, education, effectiveness, farmer, farm
worker, intervention, safety, training) in two literature databases (Scopus,
EBSCO) was carried out. It was analysed, how effectively different training
methods improved safety awareness and performance of farmers, students and
employees. The strength of the evidence on training’s effectiveness was
assessed for existence of control or comparison group, pre- and
post-testing, follow-up testing, statistical significance testing, clear
methodology description and thorough study overview were presented.
In the primary literature research, 276 articles were identified. A total of 224 articles were left after the exclusion of redundant publications. After the abstracts’ screening 52 publications met the eligibility criteria. After the full text screening by two independent researchers additionally 33 studies were excluded, and in total 19 studies entered into the data charting process. The articles were assessed as medium (n = 8) and high (n = 8) in terms of strength of evidence. According to the review results, the training methods used in the agricultural sector have shown as effective due to the safety awareness and risk behavior among the trainees improved, but new OHS knowledge after training need to be engaged and regularly updated.
Key words:
effectiveness of training, occupational health., safety behavior, training methods