Overview of Injury on New Zealand Farms

Abstract

This article provides a descriptive overview of the mortality and morbidity associated with injuries on farms in New Zealand. The study utilized New Zealand's comprehensive national injury databases. All injuries which occurred on a farm and resulted in death, hospitalization, or a compensated insurance claim were included. There were 274 injury deaths on farms between 1986 and 1991 (an average of 46 per year), 1,377 injury hospitalizations in 1989, and 15,287 compensated claims for injury in the 1989/1990 financial year. The most significant injury events on farms were incidents involving agricultural machinery (in particular tractors), motorcycle/ATV crashes, and horses. Tractors were particularly significant in terms of fatal injury, while the most common events resulting in hospitalization were those involving horses and motorcycles/ATVs. The overall rate of on-farm injury per 1,000 person-years was 0.09 for fatalities (95% CI: 0.08 to 0.10), 2.7 for hospitalizations (95% CI: 2.6 to 2.9), and 28.5 for compensated insurance claims (95% CI: 28.0 to 29.1). The injury rates in males were markedly higher than those in females, and the fatality rate in males increased during later life (40 years of age and over).

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