JASH Abstracts

The National Ag Safety Disc: A Database of Agricultural Health, Safety, and Injury Prevention Educational Materials (P. Jones, J. Nelson, H. Pirozzoli)

To promote the national exchange of health and safety program materials, NIOSH (National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health) has supported development of the National Ag Safety Disc (NASD), a PC-based CDROM, which contains an extensive compendium of educational and information resources targeted to support delivery of programs in county Cooperative Extension Service (CES) offices. The current NASD database, a prototype released in October 1994, contains over 1,000 health and safety publications from 23 states and 3 federal agencies. The publications provide extensive coverage of specific health and safety topics ranging from ATVs to Zoonoses, and a significant number of the documents are available in Spanish as well as English. The collection also covers Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Standards pertinent to agricultural producers and information on the EPA Worker Protection Standard. In addition to CES style documents, the NASD database prototype includes a database of abstracts and ordering information covering over 500 videos, and a NIOSH bibliographic database of over 500 scientific publications concerned with agricultural health and safety, posters, newspaper articles, and radio scripts. Information in the database generally can be accessed on-screen and/or printed on demand. Materials are categorized into topical, organizational, and state menus. In addition to the menus, users can find specific information by full-text search. After beta testing, the database will be refined and a first edition, '95 NASD, will be released in June 1995. Keywords. Database, Safety, Educational materials.

State Codes for Lighting and Marking of Agricultural Equipment (L.A. Glascock, T.L. Bean, R.K. Wood, T.G. Carpenter, L.C. Eicher, R.G. Holmes)

A review of traffic codes for motor vehicles (MVs) and slow moving vehicles (SMVs) for all 50 states was conducted. The states codes were searched for lighting and marking requirements using a LEXIS database. A comparison of requirements for headlights, turn signals, amber flashers, reflectors, taillights, and a slow moving vehicle emblem was the primary consideration of this study. Compared to automotive and emergency equipment, lighting and marking requirements for agricultural machinery app ar inconsistent and inadequate. Keywords. Safety, Accidents, Farm machinery, Implements, Tractor.

Projecting Economic Losses Associated With Farm-related Permanent Disabilities (R. L. Tormoehlen, W. E. Field)

Utilizing estimated and actual cost data, an attempt was made to develop a reliable method of computing and projecting the economic losses associated with farm-related permanent disabling injuries. A MS-DOS compatible computer was selected as the platform upon which to develop the farm injury cost software program because of their widespread use and availability. The computer model was designed to tabulate injury-related costs by analyzing the cost incurred in the following areas: police assistance, fire/rescue service, ambulance service, hospital charges, follow-up medical costs, rehabilitation services, property damage, replacement labor, adaptive equipment, home and farm modifications, lost productivity, and legal expenses and/or income. Users have the option of entering actual injury cost data as they proceed through the program or using the default values contained in the computer program. The end result is a computer-generated cost estimate for the injury being analyzed. It was concluded that computer programs of this type could also be used as an injury prevention strategy by increasing the awareness of farm families and farm workers to the economic impact of farm-related injuries. Keywords. Injury costs, Agriculture, Computer program, Cost, Disabled farmers, Economic models, Economics.

Depressive Symptoms Among Colorado Farmers (L. Stallones, M. Leff, C. Garrett, L. Criswell, T. Gillan)

Previous studies have reported farmers to be at higher risk of suicide compared to other workers. In order to determine possible correlates of suicide, a study including assessment of depressive symptoms was undertaken in Colorado. The purpose of this article is to describe depressive symptoms among a representative sample of Colorado farm operators and their spouses. A stratified sample of farms in Colorado was selected for study. Detailed questionnaires were administered by telephone interview assessing general health, farm characteristics, demographics, hazards, injuries, behavioral risk factors, safety knowledge, medical care and insurance, mental health using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, social support, and pesticide exposures. Logistic regression was used to evaluate factors associated with depressive symptoms in this population. A total of 485 farms representing 872 individuals were enrolled in the study. A 9.3% overall prevalence of depressive symptoms was found in the group; 7 9% among males and 11.1% among females. Factors evaluated in relation to depressive symptoms were age, social support, negative life changes, general physical health, changes in income, and alcohol use. Based on backward elimination, overall assessment of health, gender, social support, and negative life changes were significantly associated with depressive symptoms. Overall prevalence of depressive symptoms was lower in this population from that reported in the general population. Characteristics associated with depressive symptoms in other population studies were also associated with depression in this group. Further work is needed to elucidate factors which affect the overall risk of suicide among farmers. Keywords. Mental health, Farmers, Depressive symptoms.

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