A study geared towards how stress impacts workers in the cattle industry, co-led by a UNMC College of Nursing faculty member, recently achieved 500 participants.
The Cattle Feedyard Worker Health Study, co-led by Sheri Rowland, DNP, and Athena Ramos, PhD, UNMC College of Public Health, explores how stress is associated with physical, mental and social health and well-being among workers in cattle feedyards throughout the Central States region.
Data collection initially began in West Point, Neb. in July 2023 and has since spread to 24 different feedyards located throughout Nebraska, western Colorado and northern Kansas.
The research team employs a multiple-methods approach, including onsite health fairs at cattle feedyard operations, one-on-one interviews in English or Spanish with workers and ethnographic fieldwork. Dr. Rowland serves as co-investigator and clinical lead, overseeing the health assessments.
These assessments include traditional measures such as body mass index, blood pressure, spirometry, cholesterol, A1C and vitamin D. Innovative measures of health are also being collected including hair samples for cortisol testing to evaluate acute stress and a two-minute step test to evaluate cardiorespiratory fitness.
The core research team is comprised of staff from the UNMC Center for Reducing Health Disparities. Project support has also come from students in the UNMC College of Nursing and the UNMC College of Public Health, including Ammelia Mendoza-Lopez, Rocio Acosta DeBolt, DNP, Tam Nguyen, DNP, Becky Johnson-Beller, PhD, Natalia Trinidad, PhD, Marcela Carvajal-Suarez, PhD, Pricilia Soto Prato, PhD, Maria Jose Sanchez, PhD, Rishad Ahmed, PhD, Joanna Preciado Alvarez, and Brenda Martinez.
This important study helps us understand more about health, stress, and the impact of work on daily life among workers in the cattle feeding industry – a vital sector to Nebraska and the entire Central States Region.
For more information about the Cattle Feedyard Worker Health Study, contact Dr. Ramos at 402-559-2095 or via email at aramos@unmc.edu.