Dairy farming requires close contact between people and animals, with transmissions that can be a source of zoonotic disease. The development of evidence-based best practices for managing transmission of microorganisms in the farm environment could help dairy production minimize risks to workers, livestock, and the general public.
This project collaborated with Hmong refugee farmers in Washington State to identify and address farm hazards using novel community-based participatory approaches along with conventional industrial hygiene methods, and a systematic assessment of the working conditions and practices of Hmong refugee farmers.
Climate change will have serious and long-term consequences for public health. The greatest impacts will be in cities with milder summers, less air conditioning and higher population density, which are characteristic of the Pacific Northwest. A multi-disciplinary team of UW scientists will evaluate the impact of climate change on human health in the Pacific Northwest, work with local communities to study health risks that will likely occur in the next 35 years and uncover how communities might mitigate those risks.
