The North Carolina Farm Injury Project, funded by NIOSH as one of ten OHNAC states assessing the incidence of farm related injuries and illnesses, has been collecting data in four eastern North Carolina counties since 1991 through active surveillance activities. From June, 1991, through December, 1993, thirty reports of injuries in children ages one through seventeen were received from reporters in these four counties. The primary cause of injury was being struck by or caught in a piece of farm machinery or equipment such as tobacco harvesting equipment or tractor hitches. These injuries most often resulted in lacerations requiring a trip to an emergency room for suturing. The project also received reports of injuries caused by falls, MVA's, and encounters with animals. Three of the children injured were hospitalized. No fatality reports on children in the four-county area were received by the project during this time.
The Farm Injury Project conducted a series of focus groups in 1993 to obtain information about the health and safety needs of the farming population in eastern North Carolina. The analysis of this data indicated that farmers and their families were concerned about the potential for injuries and illnesses in their families and in the overall safety of their children while working and playing on the farm. The groups felt more educational activities related to farm health and safety for children were needed in their area.
Injury reports on children and focus group information led the project to the planning and implementation of a one-day farm safety camp for 100 children in our expanded eight-county project area in June of this year. This presentation will describe the collaborative effort of planning a successful event and provide outcome and evaluative information.
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: Farm Injury Project, Washington, NC and NC Farm Injury Project, Raleigh, NC respectively.
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