{"id":41160,"date":"2023-09-28T12:30:54","date_gmt":"2023-09-28T16:30:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/applied-ecology-new\/?p=41160"},"modified":"2023-10-04T12:15:21","modified_gmt":"2023-10-04T16:15:21","slug":"agriculture-workers-digital-equity-nih","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/applied-ecology\/news\/agriculture-workers-digital-equity-nih\/","title":{"rendered":"Agriculture Workers Digital Equity Initiative Receives NIH Funding"},"content":{"rendered":"

The below press release is provided by the North Carolina Department of Human Health Services and details a newly funded $6 million Community Partnerships to Advance Science for Society award. This project includes Catherine LePrevost<\/a>, associate Extension professor of applied ecology and agromedicine specialist, among its collaborators.<\/p>\n

“Our team is excited to collaborate with farmworkers and partners across the state to transform how farmworkers access health care and how community health workers connect farmworkers to health information and services,” says LePrevost. “Affordable, reliable high-speed broadband internet has the potential to make lasting changes in farming communities.”<\/p>\n

A Spanish version of this release follows.<\/p>\n

Contact:<\/strong>\u00a0news@dhhs.nc.gov<\/a>
\n919-855-4840<\/strong><\/p>\n

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services\u2019 Office of Rural Health, in partnership with East Carolina University and North Carolina State University,\u00a0has\u00a0been awarded\u00a0a highly competitive Community Partnerships to Advance Science for Society award from the National Institutes of\u00a0Health\u00a0for the\u00a0proposed\u00a0Agricultural Workers Digital Equity Initiative. The five-year, nearly $6\u00a0million award strives to advance health equity by\u00a0promoting digital inclusion for\u00a0agricultural workers\u00a0and their families\u00a0in North Carolina.<\/p>\n

More than 90,000 farmworkers and their family members are estimated to live in North Carolina, and the $100-billion-a-year agriculture industry in the state is dependent on a healthy workforce. The goal of the Agricultural Workers Digital Equity Initiative is to increase agricultural workers\u2019 access to digital health services and emergency communication by improving access to affordable, reliable high-speed\u00a0internet.<\/p>\n

“This investment from the National Institutes of Health will transform the health and well-being of our state\u2019s agricultural workers who ensure the nation’s food security,”\u00a0said NCDHHS Secretary Kody H. Kinsley. “This collaborative effort will help close the health care coverage gap by increasing access to care when and where workers and their families need it.”<\/p>\n

Within the NCDHHS\u00a0Office of Rural Health<\/a>, the\u00a0Farmworker Health Program<\/a>\u00a0will administer the NIH award. Farmworker Health Program Manager Elizabeth Freeman\u00a0Lambar will lead\u00a0the research team, which includes NC State and ECU. The project will engage agricultural workers\u00a0across the state,\u00a0along with\u00a0the existing NC Agriculture Digital Alliance and a planned Health Equity Research Assembly, to gather information that will guide the\u00a0project.<\/p>\n

“Agricultural workers experience the rurality of the digital divide while distinctively working in one of the nation\u2019s most dangerous occupations,” said Freeman Lambar. “The Agricultural Workers Digital Equity Initiative is unique in that it will be community-led, exploring and implementing interventions aimed at increasing digital equity and ultimately enhancing telehealth models in rural areas where they live to reduce some of the barriers to health care.”<\/p>\n

The\u00a0project team\u00a0will work with the NC Farmworker Health Program\u2019s service delivery sites, community partners and other health entities that serve agricultural workers and their families.<\/p>\n

Researchers with ECU\u2019s College of Health and Human Performance and the Laupus Health Sciences Library will work with NC State\u2019s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences to propose strategies to promote digital inclusion and test them based on input from agricultural workers and community partners.<\/h3>\n

“Digital equity in North Carolina’s farming communities aligns with NC State University’s commitment to farmworker health and safety,”\u00a0said Rich Bonanno, Vice Provost for Outreach and Engagement at NC State. “The Agricultural Workers’ Digital Equity Initiative will enhance partnerships aimed at equipping North Carolina\u2019s farming community with digital resources and skills, bolstering the safety toolkit for both agricultural workers and farmers. This opportunity enables access to critical healthcare resources through telehealth, propelling us toward a safer and healthier future for North Carolina agriculture.”<\/p>\n

“This project is an example of ECU\u2019s commitment to be a future focused, innovation driven campus that engages with communities to bring technical expertise and new ideas to bear on the critical issues we face,” said Sharon Paynter, Acting Chief Research and Engagement Officer at ECU. “Through this initiative, ECU faculty, staff, and students will deliver on the university\u2019s promise to contribute to improving rural health and well-being of eastern NC and beyond. We are thrilled for the team to begin this important work.”<\/p>\n

The NCDHHS Office of Rural Health\u2019s mission is to support equitable access to health in rural and underserved communities. Learn more at\u00a0www.ncdhhs.gov\/divisions\/orh<\/a>. More information on additional internet connectivity programs can also be found at the following:<\/p>\n