COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — A Bassett Healthcare Network center will use a three-year grant of more than $665,000 to develop a digital resource to improve outcomes for workers in the agriculture, forestry, and fishing (AgFF) industries.
The National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Library of Medicine (NLM) awarded the funding.
The recipient is Dr. Erika Scott and her colleagues at the New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health (NYCAMH) and the Northeast Center for Occupational Health and Safety, both of which are part of the Bassett Healthcare Network in Cooperstown.
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“Workers in farming, logging, and commercial fishing are among the most underserved populations in terms of occupational health,” Scott, deputy director of NYCAMH and the Northeast Center, said in the Bassett announcement. “This resource will help bridge the gap between rural workers and the clinicians who care for them, offering tailored information and tools that reflect the realities of their work and communities.”
The initiative, titled AgFF EMPOWER (Engaging Medical Staff and Patients in Occupational Health and Wellness with Electronic Resources), builds upon the existing Farmworker Clinical Care Resource for Occupational Health, also known as the Farmworker Clinicians Manual website, Bassett said.
The updated and expanded platform will provide “customized, accessible” tools to help clinicians better recognize and treat occupational injuries and illnesses.
Besides its role as a resource for clinicians, it also aims to empower AgFF workers to advocate for their own health and improve health literacy. These workers often reside in rural areas with limited access to health care and face socioeconomic challenges that compound health risks. The AgFF EMPOWER project directly supports Healthy People 2030 objectives, including improving communication between patients and providers and increasing population health literacy.
This resource will serve clinicians and AgFF workers across a 12-state region in the northeastern U.S., from Maine to West Virginia. It will be developed by a multidisciplinary team with expertise in occupational medicine, health literacy, web development, and information science, Bassett said.
