Simulation formats vary from very realistic high-fidelity flight simulators where a user is immersed in an environment nearly indistinguishable from an actual aircraft flight deck to lower fidelity but engaging, interactive scenarios that provide challenges where users/students can recognize patterns of potentially disastrous events and make decisions to prevent those events. The simulations serve two basic purposes. First, they assess the hazard recognition skills and knowledge needed to avoid injury events. Second, in the safety of a training room workers and students experience simulated emergency situations and make decisions to prevent pre-event conditions from progressing to the injury event stage. (Cole, 1994, 1997, 2002).

During the last few years the members of this project team have applied simulation exercise methodology to prevention of farming-related injuries through a series of exploratory studies. Products of this activity include paper and pencil simulation exercises that are currently available as downloadable text files from the National Agricultural Safety Database (NASD) web site. Two of these simulations promote the use of ROPS and seat belts to prevent injuries to tractor operators during overturns or roadway collisions. Two other simulations promote the use of approved helmets to prevent traumatic brain injuries to horse back riders and ATV operators.

Each Set of Simulation Materials Include:

• Tips on how to use the simuations
• The Simulation Problem Booklet, that contains the story and decision points in the simuation
• An Answer Sheet for recording the selected decision choices
• An Answer Key Feedback document and provides instructional feedback on the choices the user makes as s/he works through the simulation problems

Download simulation materials from the table below:

Richardson (2004, pp. 213 – 214) states that the simulation exercises target the inner knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs of the population at risk of injury, promote problem solving and critical thinking … to prevent injuries at the pre-event stage … through the recognition and removal of risk factors … and action which pre-empts at-risk injury producing behaviors. She then states, Through the presentation of real life problem simulations, the target audience can develop the ‘foresight’ required to anticipate, prevent, and alter [otherwise] unpredictable occurrences that are characteristic of real life accidental injuries. Richardson’s observations are supported by the empirical results of our earlier studies.

In his comprehensive review of farm safety educational practices, Murphy (2003, pp. 75 – 80) states that the simulation exercises to be used in this study are unique by being well-grounded in the theory of narrative psychology and its integration of behavioral, cognitive, and sociocultural approaches to behavior change.  Most approaches to farm safety lack a strong theoretical and conceptual framework. He states, The attractiveness of Cole’s (1977) model for farm safety and health education is that it provides a method to capture the reality of at-risk and safe behavior of those we are attempting to help, and combines it with the insights provided by traditional behavioral and health behavior change models.