Nonfatal Injury Experiences among Women on Family Farms

Abstract

Agricultural injury occurrence was determined among 1,096 working farm women in Texas and Louisiana. The 1-year cumulative incidence was 4.8%. Lower extremities were the body parts most frequently injured. The leading external causes were contact with foreign object, followed by falls and overdoing/ lifting. The seasonal pattern of injury was consistent with warm weather. The factors predictive of increased injury risk in multiple logistic regression included large animal farm type, greater time commitment, recurrent or persistent back conditions or weakness during the previous 12 months, hauling goods to market, and driving a tractor more than 52 days per year. Most women consulted a physician as a result of the injury. Resolving the problem of preventable farm-related injuries will require a major and coordinated effort aimed not only at farm women themselves but also at multiple variables that profoundly affect the underlying conditions and behaviors that lead to farm-related injuries.

Hearing loss as a risk factor for agricultural injuries

“…Adjusted rate ratios (RRs) of injuries for hearing loss were calculated using a multivariate Poisson regression model while controlling for potential confounding factors. Age, farm working hours, off-farm work, noise exposure, farming acreages, raising livestock, dust and gas exposure, and smoking were adjusted as potential confounding factors because they were risk factors for work-related injuries in previous studies [Charante and Mulder, 1990;Barreto et al, 1997;Browning et al, 1998;Crawford et al, 1998;Leistikow et al, 1998;Hwang et al, 2001;Park et al, 2001;Carruth et al, 2002;Hager, 2002;Hard et al, 2002;Sprince et al, 2002;Sprince et al, 2003a,b;McCurdy et al, 2004;Rautiainen et al, 2004] and they were also related to hearing [Kleinbaum et al, 1982]. Each of the hearing variables was assessed separately in the model.…”

Understanding the ergonomic risk for musculoskeletal disorders in the United States agricultural sector

“…Time spent working on the farms as well as the size of the farm has also been found to influence injury rates. Carruth et al [2002] and Stueland et al [1997] reported that injuries increased as hours worked per week increased, about 3% for every hour worked [Stueland et al, 1997]. Injuries are almost three-times as likely to occur when farm hires work long hours (more than 60 hr/week) or on farms with large acreage (>30 acres under tillage) [Kidd et al, 1996].…”

“…Hwang et al [2001] reported that more than 90% of farmers in the state of New York reported a severe injury in the previous year. The prevalence of contusions and lacerations has been reported to range between 11.4-52.0% and 12.5-34.0%, respectively [Swanson et al, 1987;Schulman et al, 1997;Stueland et al, 1997;Gerberich et al, 2001;Carruth et al, 2002;Munshi et al, 2002;Browning et al, 2003].…”

Self-Reported Back Pain among Farm Women in Southeast Louisiana

“…Farm women often are responsible for hauling animals to market. The pre-event is the host (farm woman) hauling ani- Carruth et al, 2002. mals to market. The injury involves the farm woman's interaction with the agent (farm animals) and the energy dispersal from transporting the animals.…”