Nonfatal Injuries to Household Youth on Racial Minority-Operated Farms in the U.S., 2000

Abstract

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) estimated that 32,808 nonfatal injuries occurred to youth less than 20 years of age on U.S. farms during 1998. These data, however, do not allow for the identification of minority farm operators. The Minority Farm Operator Childhood Agricultural Injury Survey (M-CAIS) was conducted to provide an overview of the number of youth on minority-operated farms and their associated farm-related injuries during 2000. M-CAIS was conducted by the USDA for NIOSH through a telephone survey of 49,270 minority-operated farms identified in the 1997 Census of Agriculture. These minority-operated farms included four racial categories (black, Asian, Native American, and other) and operators of Hispanic ethnicity. This study included only racial minority-operated farms for analysis, white Hispanic farms were excluded. In 2000, there were an estimated 28,577 youth living on U.S. farms operated by racial minorities. In that year, these youth sustained an estimated 348 nonfatal injuries. Males accounted for 245 (70%) of the injuries to household youth. The majority of all injuries to household youth (247, 71%) occurred on livestock operations. Native American household youth accounted for both the largest number of injuries (177) and the highest rate of injury (24.0/1,000 household youth) on these farms. M-CAIS data indicated significant variation in injury rates among specific racial categories. Results of the M-CAIS suggest the need for prevention strategies to address issues found within these specific sub-populations of the agricultural community.

Full article can be found in: Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health
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