Incidence and Predictive Factors Associated with Farm Accidents in Ohio

AUTHOR ABSTRACT

The descriptive data revealed that slightly less than one-third of the study sample had experienced at least one farm-related accident in the previous 3 years (1980-1982). More than half the farmers who had experienced an accident indicated the accident resulted in sutures, hospitalization, loss of sight, loss of hearing, loss of limbs, or death, all of which were defined as serious injuries. Farmers who had experienced accidents reported an average of 16.1 work days lost per farm-related accident, which is much higher than the number reported in earlier research (30). The large number of lost work days supports the observation made in this study that more than half of all farm accidents resulted in serious injury. The study findings demonstrated that the major causes of farm accidents are machinery, falls and farm animals. Data collected to assess adoption of ROPS revealed an increase in use from a previously conducted study, but the percentage of farmers using ROPS was quite small, indicating slow adoption. Farm safety equipment has also increased in use since 1977, with the greatest increases in squeeze bottles filled with water for anhydrous ammonia spills and smoke detectors in farm homes. Several types of protection devices were shown not to be widely used. Throughout the presentation of the descriptive findings, comparisons were made between full-time and part-time farmers. These analyses revealed that farming status was a very poor predictor of all the safety variables examined.

SOURCE AND NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE ID#

SOURCE: Wooster, Ohio: Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, The Ohio State University; 1985. 15.

NLOM ID#: No ID#.