Narrative is the "basic mode of human interaction and a fundamental way of acquiring new knowledge." Narrative is widely used in health communication to influence attitudes and change behaviors. This project builds on experiences and partnerships with the translational Telling the Story Project (www.tellingthestoryproject.org), a collaboration of the Great Plains Center for Agricultural Health (GPCAH), the Upper Midwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center (UMASH), the Central States Center for Agricultural Safety and Health (CS-CASH), and the National Farm Medicine Center (NFMC). The Telling the Story Project injects prevention messages into first-person injury stories. The project has been well-received by farmers, media, and educators. This branch of the project will focus on child injury and fatality stories that took place in agriculture. The articles and stories featured on this website will encourage readers to use prevention and safety strategies to protect their own families.
We encourage you to share links to our stories. In addition, our stories may be republished without further permission if published as written. We simply ask that you credit the National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety.
Jaxon Boomsma Story
“If you’ve never gone to a 7-year-old’s funeral …”
Where do you begin grasping the incomprehensible, grieving the unimaginable and struggling with, “Why?”
Jaxon Boomsma died April 14, 2017, as the result of a tractor-related incident at a relative’s farm. Not a day goes by that the smile of this little boy from Yankton, S.D., is not missed... Read more