Heat-Related Illnesses Among U.S. Agricultural Workers from 2016 to 2024: Content Analysis of News Media Reports

Details

• Journal Article:
  International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Personal Author:
  Benny, Christopher P. ; Hanschu, Jakob ; Aby, Roger G. ; Gorucu, Serap ; Weichelt, Bryan P.
• Description:
  In the U.S., extreme heat is the leading cause of weather-related fatalities. Farmers, ranchers and other outdoor workers who are exposed to the elements and engaged in strenuous physical activity are disproportionately impacted. This manuscript summarizes the number and severity of heat-related illnesses and injuries collected through the AgInjuryNews.org system, highlights their characteristics, provides recommendations for farmworkers and employers, and calls for future research. Heat-related illness cases from 2016-2024 were analyzed. Fourteen agricultural heat-related incidents covered by U.S. media were identified. Most incidents took place in June and July. A content analysis was conducted to identify news articles that included mention of prevention strategies, laws and regulations related to working conditions, or OSHA. Over half of the cases were from southern states. Eleven of the incidents involved male farmworkers, one involved a male farmer, and two involved first responders (gender unspecified). All of the farmer/farmworker incidents were single-victim fatalities. Seven articles mentioned prevention strategies, ten mentioned laws or regulations, and nine mentioned OSHA, often cursory. These findings suggest that media reports provide a limited and selective image of agricultural heat-related injuries, with coverage emphasizing fatalities and investigation information more often than prevention. Description provided by NIOSH
• Subjects:
  • Agriculture
  • Hot Environments
  • Occupational Health
  • Safety
• Keywords:
  • Agricultural workers; Agriculture; Farmers; Outdoor workers; Hot environments; Farm workers; Fatalities; Heat exposure; Injury prevention; Agricultural safety;
  • Author Keywords: agriculture; farming; heat illness; outdoor workers; climate change; occupational safety and health; news media
• Source:
  Int J Environ Res Public Health 2026 May; 23(5):549
• ISSN:
  1660-4601
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Atlanta Region OSHA ; Birmingham Region OSHA ; Chicago Region OSHA ; Florida ; Wisconsin
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  21 pdf pages
• Volume:
  23
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20071704
• Contact Point Address:
  Christopher Benny, Medical College of Wisconsin-Central Wisconsin, Wausau, WI 54401, USA
• Email:
  cbenny@mcw.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2026
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20080930
• End Date:
  20260929
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/259475/cdc_259475_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 610.63 KB]
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e3bc8b93403be367e8d4378afe8aa1b0c83a3ee51ec2d5e879c1b46f02ac780ea316b26a826f7a0e159d1937695c804124b53b9a4b2ac4e892e3a49388b86d26