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L.J.
Grafft and K.J.
Donham
NIOSH Education and Information Division
It has
been reported that 300 children die in the United States each
year as a result of farm injuries. Another 23,000 receive
disabling injuries. Many of these injuries occur because children
play, or accompany their parents, in the workplace. In many
instances, there may be no alternatives. This study was designed
to remove children from the workplace by providing child care
opportunities for rural residents.
A child
care survey was conducted in Waverly, Iowa in 1992 by Wartburg
College because of a desire by the business community to provide
child care for their employees. While the survey did not address
the specific needs of the farming population, it was a significant
attempt at determining needs of workers for child care services.
We began our project in Waverly (Bremer County) in 1993, as
a result of the initial 1992 study.
Farmers
have several biases against child care, and it was important
that we dispel these before initiating the actual project.
It was decided that safety awareness programs and child care
education should be conducted in the area first.
Initial
contacts in Bremer County included a licensed day care center
in Waverly, the Cooperative Extension Service Family Field
Specialist, and Wartburg College. Each of these contacts offered
encouragement and cautious optimism for the Alternative Rural
Child Care project in Bremer County. Subsequent contacts have
been made with all agribusinesses in the county as well as
schools, churches, day care providers, hospitals and EMS providers.
These contacts were made in an attempt to garner com unity
support for the project. Posters were left in each of these
locations outlining the basic purpose of the project.
Media
contacts have been made and news releases have been printed
in each of the four newspapers. A farm safety series was televised
in the area. We are currently working with two radio stations
in the area also.
Farm
safety demonstrations are planned for each of the community
celebration days in the county. A survey of producers is also
planned following the awareness portion of the project to
gauge their ideas of both farm safety and child care.
While
we are not convinced that child care will be used more than
it currently is, the awareness of injuries to children should
help to modify behavior in the area. This alone should help
to reduce injuries, which is what we are after.
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and Reproduction Information: Information in NASD does not represent
NIOSH policy. Information included in NASD appears by permission
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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.
L.J.
Grafft and K.J. Donham, The Univ. of Iowa, Iowa City, IA.
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