California Farm Survey of Occupational Injuries and Hazards

Details

• Personal Author:
  Beckman J ; Geiser CR ; Husting EL ; Inai A ; Osorio, Ana Maria ; Summerill KF
• Description:
  It has been well-recognized that farm workers are at very high risk for occupational injuries. Due to the unique composition of the California agricultural industry and workforce, especially the migrant farm worker population, a survey of farms in two agricultural counties was conducted. The primary goal of the survey is to evaluate commodity-specific farm injuries and hazards in two highly agricultural regions in California with a high proportion of migrant farm labor, Fresno and Monterey Counties. The specific aim was to evaluate a total of 350 farms randomly selected after stratification for commodity and farm size. Each farm evaluation consisted of a farm owner/operator interview, seven randomly selected worker interviews, and a standardized health and safety walk-though survey. From 1992 through 1996, field visits and data collection have been completed for 357 farms (representing over 2000 worker interviews and 157 walk-through evaluations). Preliminary results indicate a work force of mostly Hispanic men (approximately 89%) with a mean age of 38. There were high prevalences of musculoskeletal problems in the lower back (24%), upper back (19%) and wrist (18%) regions of the body. During the past year, 29% of the workers reported occupational injuries associated with farm work, farm equipment or transportation. Among the injured workers, 20% reported multiple incidents, 27% missed at least one day of work, 46% saw a licensed medical care provider, and 22% knew of a workers compensation report being filed. Only 70% of the injured workers reported received training on the work task that was associated with their injury. The final California Farm Survey will allow a unique view of the farming industry in the State from the concurrent perspective of the owner/operator, the farm worker and the study walk-through evaluator. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Epidemiology Farmers Musculoskeletal Diseases Occupational Health Race Factors Safety Safety Management Staff Development
• Keywords:
  Agricultural-industry Agricultural-workers Author Keywords: Agricultural Health California Farm Hazards Farm Worker Injury-prevention Musculoskeletal-system-disorders Occupational-health Occupational Injuries Racial-factors Safety-measures Statistical-analysis Training

  More +
• ISSN:
  1074-7583
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; District of Columbia ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  99-108
• Volume:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20025127
• Citation:
  J Agric Saf Health 1998 May; 4(Special Issue 1):99-108
• Contact Point Address:
  Ana Maria Osorio, MD, MPH, Office of Pesticide Programs, US EPA (7506C), 401 M Street SW, Washington, DC 20460
• Email:
  osorio.anamaria@epamail.epa.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1998
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c48243b163a54591f42cf6e095b03d1a6c8d75e19eb91674097adce43067c3e6e6cd41179e0f8837893f1894a8dab340a991ec29aac8d55fe3331ed5854327a1
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/196617/cdc_196617_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 84.49 KB ]