1. Home
2. Conferences
3. 2026 Extension Risk Management Education National Conference

Heat Illness Train-the-Trainer Program for Colorado Agricultural Workers

Whitney Pennington, Morgan Valley, and Yessica Martinez

Summary

Objective: Agricultural workers have an elevated risk of heat-related illnesses. Colorado regulations regarding heat stress prevention in agriculture require heat illness prevention training for workers. This study aimed to adapt, implement, and evaluate a train-the-trainer program for heat-illness prevention at Colorado agricultural businesses.
Methods: In the spring of 2024 and 2025, thirteen training sessions were held in English and Spanish to train trainers on heat stress prevention in Colorado. Following the sessions, trainers trained farmworkers in their workplaces. Using a series of surveys and focus groups, changes in reaction levels, learning, behavior, and workplace outcomes were assessed. Descriptive statistics and paired t-test were used to analyze survey responses. Thematic analysis was used to analyze focus group data.
Results: Across 13 sessions, 143 trainers completed the training, who then trained more than 1,270 farmworkers. The trainers expressed high levels of satisfaction with the training and had significant improvement in their knowledge of the risk of heat stress, recognizing symptoms, and prevention strategies. Training led to increased confidence among trainers in their ability to train workers. Trainers and farmworkers reported adopting positive changes in their work practices to prevent heat-related illness.
Conclusion: The evaluation findings demonstrated that the Colorado-based train-the-trainer heat-related prevention training program increased trainers’ knowledge and confidence and in turn improved farmworkers’ workplace heat-related prevention practices. These changes may protect workers' health while also reducing labor-related risks for producers.

Details

---