CSN Monthly Bulletin

Rural and Agricultural Injuries

September 2005

This bulletin comes to you from the Children's Safety Network through CSN Discuss, an electronic forum for the discussion of child and adolescent injury and violence prevention and related issues.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A Question from CSN
News and Developments
  1. North American Guidelines for Children's Agricultural Tasks (NAGCAT)-5 year review
  2. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) research agenda
  3. National Institute for Farm Safety Annual Meeting and Conference
  4. United States Department of Agriculture Cooperative Extension System Office
Articles and Reports
  1. Article: Do parents' perceptions of risks protect children engaged in farm work?
  2. Article: Tractor-related injuries: A population-based study of a five-state region in the Midwest.
  3. Article: Pediatric farm injuries involving non-working children injured by a farm work hazard: five priorities for primary prevention.
  4. Article: Evaluation of the North American Guidelines for Children's Agricultural Tasks using a case series of injuries.
  5. Article: Farm fatalities to youth 1995-2000: A comparison by age groups.
Rural and Agricultural Injury Prevention Resources from CSN
  1. Farm Safety Rescue State Directory
  2. National Children's Center for Rural and Agricultural Safety website

AVAILABILITY

Copies of many items can be delivered to state Maternal and Child Health and state public health staff upon request. Articles available by e-mail are so indicated. Some other articles can be faxed or mailed. To request an article or other publication, e-mail jhudson@edc.org with the item name, delivery preference (e-mail, fax number, or mailing address). This service is restricted to state Maternal and Child Health and state public health staff. Restricted time and resources forbids us from delivering articles to others.

URLs of publications that can be downloaded from the web are included in the bibliographic information.

News and Developments
  1. North American Guidelines for Children's Agricultural Tasks (NAGCAT)-5-year review

    2. The North American Guidelines for Children's Agricultural Tasks (NAGCAT) were developed to assist parents in safely assigning farm jobs to their children 7-16 years of age. Additional training and support materials for NAGCAT users and research to facilitate addressing the perceptions and barriers of NAGCAT users are planned for the future. More information is available at http://www.nagcat.org/nagcat/pages/default.aspx.

  2. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) research agenda

    3. NIOSH is developing a national research agenda. One of the "sector research councils" creating this agenda will focus on agriculture, forestry, and fishing. NIOSH invites stakeholders to share comments and suggest future research directions at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/nora.

  3. National Institute for Farm Safety (NIFS) Annual Meeting and Conference

    4. NIFS is an organization dedicated to the professional development of agricultural safety and health professionals. NIFS' annual conference will be held June 23-29, 2006 and hosted by the National Farm Medicine Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. For more information go to http://www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~agsafety/NIFS/nifs.htm.

  4. United States Department of Agriculture Cooperative Research, Education, Extension Service (CREES)

    5. CREES advances knowledge for agriculture, the environment, human health and well-being, and communities. Cooperative Extension System Offices can provide practical information on a variety of topics including agricultural safety. To locate an extension system office in your area, go to http://www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension/index.html.

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Articles and Reports

  1. Zentner J, Berg RL, Pickett W, Marlenga B.
    Do parents' perceptions of risks protect children engaged in farm work?
    Preventive Medicine. 2005 June;40(6):860-6.

    This study describes farm parents' perceptions of risks on their farms and explores whether these perceptions were associated with parents' compliance with the North American Guidelines for Children's Agricultural Tasks (NAGCAT). The study found that the perception of farm work as dangerous for children was only weakly related to parents' use of NAGCAT to help safeguard their children working on the farm.

    Availability:

    hard copy only

  2. Carlson KF, Gerberich SG, Church TR, Ryan AD, Alexander BH, Mongin SJ, Renier CM, Zhang X, French LR, Masten A.
    Tractor-related injuries: A population-based study of a five-state region in the Midwest.
    American Journal of Industrial Medicine. 2005 March;47(3):254-64.

    This study identified the incidence, consequences, and potential risk factors for tractor injuries among agricultural households in a five-state region. It found that the risk of tractor injury varied by gender, age, and prior injury experience.

    Availability:

    hard copy only

  3. Pickett W, Brison RJ, Berg RL, Zentner J, Linneman J, Marlenga B.
    Pediatric farm injuries involving non-working children injured by a farm work hazard: five priorities for primary prevention.
    Injury Prevention. 2005 February;11(1):6-11.

    This study found that substantial numbers of injuries to children on farms are caused by known occupational injury hazards but occur to children who are not engaged in farm work. The five priorities recommended by this article include 1) prohibiting access to the farm worksite, 2) installing passive safety barriers, 3) instituting safe storage practices, 4) identifying child care alternatives, and 5) developing guidelines for common recreational activities on farms.

    This article is available online at http://ip.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/11/1/6

  4. Marlenga B, Brison RJ, Berg RL, Zentner J, Linneman J, Pickett W.
    Evaluation of the North American Guidelines for Children's Agricultural Tasks using a case series of injuries.
    Injury Prevention. 2004 December;10(6):350-7.

    This study found that NAGCAT, if used, is effective at preventing many of the most serious injuries to children working on farms, but that such injuries are only a portion of the serious injuries to children on farms.

    Availability:

    hard copy only

  5. Goldcamp M, Hendricks KJ, Myers JR.
    Farm fatalities to youth 1995-2000: A comparison by age groups.
    Journal of Safety Research. 2004;35(2):151-7.

    This study found an average of 9.3 farm-related fatalities for every 100,000 youths. 80 percent of these injuries are to boys. Machinery accounts for 25 percent of these fatalities and motor vehicles for 17 percent.

    Availability:

    hard copy only

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Rural and Agricultural Injury Prevention Resources from CSN
  1. Farm Safety Rescue State Directory

    The Farm Safety Rescue State Directory gathers resources available to states and communities to prepare first responders in agricultural settings. The National Farm Medicine Center (800-662-6900) welcomes comments and suggestions. This project is in cooperation with the Rural Emergency Medical Systems Training and Technical Assistance Center (REMSTTAC). For additional information regarding rural EMS call REMSTTAC at 866-587-6370. The Farm Safety Rescue Directory can be found at http://www.marshfieldclinic.org/nfmc/pages/default.aspx?page=MCRF-farmrescue.


  2. National Children's Center for Rural and Agricultural Safety website

    The National Children's Center for Rural and Agricultural Safety website features additional resources on rural and agricultural safety for children, including fact sheets, guidelines for building outdoor play areas on farms, and training materials. The website can be found at http://research.marshfieldclinic.org/children/.

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Next month's CSN Discuss Bulletin will focus on Youth Violence.

Please direct questions about this bulletin to Lisa Decker at:
Children's Safety Network
National Children's Center for Rural and Occupational Health and Safety
1000 N. Oak Ave.
Marshfield, WI 54449
Tel. 715-389-7723
Fax: 715-389-4996
Toll Free: 800-662-6900
Email: Decker.Lisa@mcrf.mfldclin.edu
http://research.marshfieldclinic.org/children/