Cost of Agricultural Injuries and Occupational Diseases in Finland

Details

• Personal Author:
  Burmeister L ; Donham, Kelley ; Eskola E ; Ohsfeldt R ; Rautiainen, Risto ; Reynolds S ; Saarimaki P ; Siitonen T ; Sprince N ; Zwerling C
• Description:
  Although agriculture is one of the most hazardous industries, the costs of agricultural injuries and illnesses are not well known. This study aims to characterize compensated agricultural injury and illness costs in Finnish agriculture and to identify risk factors for high claim costs. The annual costs to the workers' compensation insurance system were quantified from 1982 to 1999. Claims occurring in 1996 (n=10,922) were used for assessing cost characteristics and risk factors. The t-test, chi-square test, and General Linear Models procedures were used in the analyses. The total insurance cost in 1996 was 23.5 million Euros, which is 0.7% of the national gross farm income and 2.2% of the net farm income. The cost consisted of medical (16%), lost time per diem (37%), accident pension (23%), survivors' pension (3%), impediment allowance (7%), rehabilitation (6%) and other costs (9%). The mean cost of 1996 claims was 1340 Euros for injuries, 6636 Euros for occupational diseases, and 1743 Euros for both. Only 0.6% of the claims led to permanent pension, but the present value of the permanent pensions was 23 % of the total injury and illness costs. Women had a higher risk of permanent pension compared to men (RR=1.8, CI: 1.1-2.9), and occupational diseases had a higher risk of permanent pension compared to injuries (RR=6.9, CI: 4.2-11.4). The most costly health outcomes included asthma, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, brain and spinal cord injuries, amputations, dermatitis, and bone fractures. High-cost causes included biological and organic dusts, large animals, floors and walkways, slippery and uneven terrain, sudden movements, scaffoldings, ladders, stairs, wagons, saws, wood splitters and chippers, tractors, power take-offs, and repetitive motion. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Animals Asthma Asthma, Occupational Demography Dermatitis Dust Epidemiology Ergonomics Farmers Forestry Hypersensitivity Musculoskeletal Diseases Musculoskeletal System Nervous System Nervous System Diseases Occupational Diseases Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Sex Characteristics

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• Keywords:
  Agricultural-chemicals Agricultural-industry Agricultural-machinery Agricultural-workers Bone-disorders Brain-disorders Bronchial-asthma Demographic-characteristics Forestry-workers Injuries Occupational-diseases Organic-dusts Power-tools Risk-analysis Risk-factors Sex-factors Spinal-cord-disorders Statistical-analysis Tractors Traumatic-injuries

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• Publisher:
  National Institute for Farm Safety (NIFS)
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary ; Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  Colorado ; Iowa ; OSHA Region 7 ; OSHA Region 8
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20026727
• Citation:
  Proceedings of the National Institute for Farm Safety (NIFS) Annual Conference, June 23-27, 2002, Ponte Vedra, Florida. Columbus, OH: National Institute for Farm Safety, 2002 Jun; :1
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2002
• Performing Organization:
  Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20000801
• Source Full Name:
  Proceedings of the National Institute for Farm Safety (NIFS) Annual Conference, June 23-27, 2002, Ponte Vedra, Florida
• End Date:
  20020731
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c0105a046608c53db7804239e6cc4921fad27da8f029a8a3bdfaaeadbf14db39dede66de1e42c3013bc3f2e8adb5960600d26d50aa58a728d4aa5a2b2faa130c
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/197365/cdc_197365_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 86.00 KB ]