Determinants of injury among older Saskatchewan farm operators: A prospective cohort study

Abstract

SignificanceThe agricultural industry differs from other businesses in the composition of its workforce. Often farm owner‐operators work beyond what society would expect to be a normal retirement age. Older farmers may be less receptive to behavioral changes designed to improve worksite safety and are at increased risk for experiencing a work‐related injury. We had a unique opportunity to evaluate the relative influence of specific occupational conditions and practices reported by older farm operators (age ≥55 years) on the occurrence of injury using a longitudinal approach.Materials and MethodsBaseline data were provided by eligible and consenting farm members in the first quarter of 2013. These farms were then followed longitudinally by mail surveys over 24 months to document injury experiences. For each survey, mailed questionnaires were sent to participating farms and completed by a single respondent. Cox proportional hazard models were used to determine which characteristics of the farm work environment were protective.ResultsA total of 96 farm injuries were reported by 73 of 566 farm operators. Medium (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.58; confidence interval [CI], 0.35‐0.96) or high (HR = 0.53; CI, 0.30‐0.94) worksite physical safety and high economic security (HR = 0.41; CI, 0.24‐0.71) were protective in reducing injury among older farmers.ConclusionSafety features in the physical environment and economic security are important protective factors for injury among older farmers. This supports injury prevention theory that suggests that engineering controls are superior to changes in work practices or the use of personal protective equipment in reducing injuries among older farmers.

Farm‐related injury deaths in Australia (2001–20)

“…These findings reflect similar patterns in other western agricultural systems and within Australia. [17][18][19] Persons working in Tasmania and the Northern Territory were also at increased risk in comparison with other jurisdictions, which is also in line with earlier data. 6 Major agents of injury accounting for over two-thirds of incidents have not altered markedly over the period and centred farm vehicles (39.0%) and mobile farm machinery (25.8%).…”

Childcare for farm families: A key strategy to keep children safe yet largely absent from farm programming

“…Within the landscape of the farm programming we assessed, those focusing on the farm business were more prevalent compared to those focusing on farm safety, yet it was farm safety programs that were more likely to touch on children topics while both farm business and farm safety programs seldom covered childcare topics. With the exception of a handful of farm organizations in our two samples that were actively working to provide practical in support of farm parents, the frequent emphasis on knowledge-deficit and behavior change paradigms in programming echo previous findings on farm safety ( 1 , 2 , 25 , 60 ) and farm business ( 78 – 80 ) programming. Speaking to the second research question, the limited coverage cannot simply be explained by a lack of awareness among interviewed key informants given the nuanced and layered set of perspectives on how children interact with the farm business, farm safety, as well as farm parents' wellbeing.…”

“…(1) the family farm model, a historically prominent farm structure in the Midwest and Northeast (67), (2) variations in farm commodity and scale (dairy in WI and VT of different sizes, large commodity crop production in OH, and smaller diversified operations in VT) (68), (3) variations in childcare environments with VT providing an extreme (or deviant) case study site (63) due to the state's significant investments in early childhood education prior to COVID-19 (69, 70). In addition, researchers had existing professional networks in these states along with on-the-ground knowledge of the agricultural sectors.…”

“…(1) How do farm service providers and farm organizations integrate topics connected to children and childcare in their programming? (2) What are farm service providers and farm organizations' perspectives on the interactions between children, farm business, and farm safety? and (3) What factors shape the integration of children and childcare topics in programs and resources?…”

“…Farm safety researchers and educators have worked for decades to reduce the high rates of injuries and fatalities experienced by farm children. Despite the progress made as a result of these efforts, some have argued that injuries and fatalities rates remain too high, in particular among by-standing non-working children ( 1 , 2 ). One explanation is the regulatory framework where no laws prevent farm parents from involving their children in the farm or the existing laws are deemed insufficient and/or not enforced ( 3 – 5 ).…”