M.B.
Auslander, B. J. Meade and C.W. Spurlock
NIOSH Education and Information Division
Kentucky
is one of ten states with Occupational Health Nurses in Agricultural
Communities projects. In Kentucky, farm-related injury surveillance
is conducted in nine counties representing 13% of the state
farm population. After two complete years of data collection,
17% of the injuries reported were related to animals; this
was the third leading cause of farm-related injuries after
machinery and falls. There were 197 animal injuries, which
is an average annual rate of 4.2 animal-related injuries requiring
medical attention per 1,000 farm residents. This projects
to 731 farm-related animal injuries per year in Kentucky that
require medical care.
The
median age for those injured was 38 years with a range of
2-90 years; 87% were male. Eighty percent of the animal injuries
were work-related; the other injuries occurred during recreational
or household activities. Eight percent of the injured patients
required hospitalization and there was one fatality. Eighty-one
percent of the patients had public or private health insurance.
Fifteen
percent of the injuries were to children and eight percent
of the adults were over sixty-four. These forty-three injuries
would not have occurred in other hazardous occupations because
of age restrictions. Other contributing factors may be related
to living in the same environment as the workplace, the lack
of maturity in children, and the reduced physical abilities
among older adults.
Cattle
and horses were responsible for 57% and 29% of the injuries
respectively. Half of the cattle injuries occurred while the
animal was confined for medical procedures or for loading
and transport. Bulls were responsible for 14% of the cattle
injuries, but constitute only 3% of the Kentucky cattle census.
Prevention
strategies include teaching proper animal handling techniques
based upon animal behavior and the appropriate use of well-designed
confinement facilities. Keeping bulls for breeding purposes
should be discouraged. Farm tasks should be undertaken by
family members of an appropriate age and physical ability.
Disclaimer
and Reproduction Information: Information in NASD does not represent
NIOSH policy. Information included in NASD appears by permission
of the author and/or copyright holder. More
NASD Review: 04/2002
This
research abstract was extracted from a portion of the proceedings
of "Agricultural Safety and Health: Detection, Prevention and
Intervention," a conference presented by the Ohio State University
and the Ohio Department of Health, sponsored by the Centers
for Disease Control/National Institute for Occupational Safety
and Health.
The
authors noted above are from: The Kentucky Dept. Health Services,
Frankfort, KY; USDA, Tampa, FL and Kentucky Dept. Health Services,
Frankfort, KY respectively.
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