A multiple-phase, population-based health and hazard study of Ohio cash grain farmers and eligible family members is currently underway. The project was designed as a collaborative effort between Ohio State University, CDC/NIOSH, and the State of Ohio. In Phase 1 of the project, which started in June of 1993 and was completed in November of 1993, a stratified random sample of 4,860 cash grain farms was selected from the comprehensive statewide roster maintained by the Ohio Agricultural Statistics Service. A mixed-mode survey (i.e., a self-administered, mailed questionnaire, with telephone follow-up of mail non-respondents) was conducted to obtain relevant health and hazard data. The content of the questionnaire and its design was modeled to a great extent after NCHS's National Health Interview Survey, a national health survey of the civilian non-institutionalized population of the United States. As will be discussed, the overall survey response rate ranged from 43.6% to 71.4%, depending on the response rate definition used. Variation in response was not seen across four farm-size strata, although regional, and especially county-to-county, variation in response was evident. Despite the lower-than-desired response rate, non-response bias appears to be minimal. Reasons for non-response and preliminary findings for selected health outcomes will also be discussed.
This research abstract was extracted from a portion of the proceedings of "Agricultural Safety and Health: Detection, Prevention and Intervention," a conference presented by the Ohio State University and the Ohio Department of Health, sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control/National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
The authors noted above are from: All at The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
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