Details:

Alternative Title:
J Agric Saf Health
Personal Author:
Arora, K. ; Cheyney, M. ; Gerr, F. ; Bhagianadh, D. ; Gibbs, J. ; ... More +
Arora, K. ; Cheyney, M. ; Gerr, F. ; Bhagianadh, D. ; Gibbs, J. ; Anthony, T. R. Less -
Description:
Problem statement:

There is limited research exploring agricultural workers’ own perspectives on the relative importance of the hazards and stressors they experience. There is also lack of evidence on whether this reporting differs by method of elicitation. Finally, there exists very little research on how to improve mail survey response rates among agricultural workers.

Objectives:

We examined health and safety concerns and psychological stressors among Midwestern farmers. We assessed whether these reports varied by survey mode (mail survey versus in-person survey). The efficacy of two different types of incentives to enhance mail survey response rates among agricultural workers was also investigated.

Methods:

In 2018, a needs assessment survey was developed and mailed to a random sample of farm owner-operators in Iowa, Ohio and Missouri, with randomly assigned prepaid or promised monetary incentives. In-person surveys were conducted among farm owner-operators and hired workers at three regional farm shows in Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska. Mail survey response rates were compared by incentive type. Content analysis was used to generate themes associated with health and safety concerns and psychological stressors, which were then ranked by frequency counts. Chi-square tests were used to analyze variation in the distribution of these themes by survey mode.

Findings:

The response rate for the $1 prepaid incentive was double that of the $10 promised incentive. Content analysis identified 13 health and safety concerns and eight psychological stressors. Chemicals, equipment/tools and health outcomes were the most frequently noted health and safety concerns. Finances, climate/weather, and farm workload and management were the most frequently noted psychological stressors. Although there was considerable overlap in survey responses across mail and in-person respondents, important differences by sample and survey mode characteristics were observed.

Significance:

The results can support a variety of stakeholders in prioritizing and developing interventions and educational resources to address health and safety concerns and psychological stressors among Midwestern farmers. Our findings also contribute to the evidence base on primary data collection methods for agricultural workers.


Subject:
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Adult
Aged
Agriculture
Farmers
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Occupational Health
Stress, Psychological
Surveys And Questionnaires

Source:
J Agric Saf Health. 26(1):45-58
Pubmed ID:
32429619
Pubmed Central ID:
PMC7250162
Document Type:
Journal Article
Funding:
U54 OH007548/OH/NIOSH CDC HHS/United States
Place as Subject:
Iowa ; Ohio
Iowa ; Ohio Less -
Collection(s):
CDC Public Access
Main Document Checksum:
[+]
urn:sha256:468ad0435de0754a6f3b32f497835e2f39ab0f54e6802c1bd2357b8960651a6f
File Type:

Supporting Files

• nihms-1067372.nxml

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