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Abstract
Agriculture is ranked by the National Safety Council as one of the most hazardous occupations in the United States. However, little data exist on the occurrence, distribution and determinants of agricultural injuries. In response to this need, a population-based cross-sectional study of the occurrence of agricultural injuries in 1,000 Alabama farm operators was conducted.
A state-wide simple random sample of active farm operators was obtained from the Alabama Agricultural Statistical Service. Data were collected with a mail questionnaire followed by telephone interview. Agricultural injury was defined as unintentional, physical trauma and/or poisoning, for which medical care was sought or which resulted in a loss of at least one-half day from normal activities, occurring on a farm or to a person engaged in some kind of agricultural activity at the time of the injury.
The participation rate was 86.2%. The cumulative one-year incidence was 9.9% (95% CI = 7.7 to 12.1), based on the number of injuries, and 7.8% (95% CI = 5.8 to 9.8) based on the number of farmers injured. The most frequently seen incident injuries were sprain/strain, bruise/contusion/hematoma, and fracture. The three leading external causes were machinery, animals, and falls. Most victims (62.5%) had complete recovery, although a third of the cases suffered a continuing consequence. Medical attention was sought in 71.4% of incident cases, and hospitalization was necessary in 17.9% of those cases. The prevalence of persistent consequences of injury was 9.3% (95% CI = 7.2 to 11.4); 23.9% were amputations (primarily of fingers). A bimodal time curve of injury occurrence in a day was seen with a minor peak at 7 A.M. to 11 A.M. (3.75/hour) and a major peak at 1 P.M. to 5 P.M. (4.25/hour). There was higher frequency in the second part of the week, with a peak on Saturdays. Injuries occurred less frequently in winter. The seasonal pattern of farm injuries displayed a bimodal curve, with one peak in spring, and the highest peak in early fall in September (16.3%). Of the injuries, 19.2% occurred in the field, 17.3% in a pasture or range, and 11.7% around animal facilities. The most risky types of farming were forestry, dairy, and, possibly, poultry. There was a trend for a positive relationship between the number of workers on the farm and injury occurrence (p $<$ 0.01). A significant positive dose-response relationship between alcohol consumption and risk of injury was found (p = 0.03). Part-time farmers were more likely to be injured per unit time on farming (p $<$ 0.01). The independent variables that explained variance in the occurrence of injuries included age, percent of working time spent on farming, farm ownership, the amount of alcohol consumed, and the presence of persistent injury. Farmers most often blamed themselves for the injury occurrences, and most did not believe that actions by others would have prevented their injuries from happening. Results of this study provide some indications and directions for formulating agricultural injury control programs and for future research.
