Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health 20(4): 267-282 © 2014 ASABE ISSN 1074-7583 DOI 10.13031/jash.20.10528 267 Personal Goals and Perceived Barriers of Farmworker Pesticide Trainers: Implications for Workplace Safety and Health C. E. LePrevost, M. R. Blanchard, W. G. Cope ABSTRACT. Farmworkers are an at-risk occupational group, frequently exposed to pesti- cides in their working and living environments. Pesticide training for farmworkers is federally mandated, but little is known about the farmworker trainers who provide or supplement the training. Using questionnaires and semi-structured interviews, this quali- tative study explored a sample of pesticide trainers (n = 45) in North Carolina. A con- ceptual framework that recognizes the trainer as a “person-in-context” guided an exam- ination of trainers’ goals and perceived constraints. Findings indicated that five types of organizations provide pesticide training. Individuals from these organizations have shared goals to reduce exposure and ensure health for farmworkers. Trainers identified practical constraints (time, farmworker physical and mental state, physical setting, insti- tutional factors, training, and curricular materials) as restricting goal attainment. This study improves understanding of pesticide trainers and the context of pesticide training, guiding future interventions. Further, it suggests that the congruence of trainers’ goals provides a foundation for future collaborations to better meet farmworkers’ needs. Keywords. Beliefs, Farmworkers, Goals, Pesticides, Trainers, Training. igrant and seasonal farmworkers are an at-risk segment of the agricultural workforce in the U.S. These hand laborers who cultivate and harvest crops face cultural challenges and linguistic barriers in the workplace that predispose them to occupational illness and injury (Arcury et al., 2013; Donham and Thelin, 2006). Farmworkers’ temporary employment, migratory lifestyles, and tenuous documentation status (frequently as guest or undocumented workers) increase their risk of illness and injury and limit their access to health care. These factors also contribute to farmworkers’ feelings of powerlessness within the working environment, including their fear of report- ing unsafe working conditions. Low literacy levels and limited formal education among farmworkers exacerbate their at-risk status (Carroll et al., 2005; Tamassia et al., 2007). Pesticide exposure is a significant occupational hazard for migrant and seasonal farm- workers, who work and often live in close proximity to agricultural chemicals (Mobed et al., 1992). Although deaths and hospitalizations associated with pesticides are on the de- cline, pesticide exposure remains a public health concern, especially among migrant farmworkers (Arcury et al., 2013), and continued efforts to educate agricultural workers Submitted for review in December 2013 as manuscript number JASH 10528; approved for publication by the Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health of ASABE in May 2014. The authors are Catherine E. LePrevost, Teaching Assistant Professor, Department of Applied Ecology, Margaret R. Blanchard, Associate Professor, Department of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education, and W. Gregory Cope, Professor, Department of Applied Ecology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina. Corresponding author: Catherine LePrevost, Campus Box 7617, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7617; phone: 919-515-2276; e-mail: celeprev@ncsu.edu. M