J.R.
Wilkins III, G.L.
Mitchell, L.A.
Jones, J.M.
Crawford and T.L.
Bean
NIOSH Education and Information Division
A
multiple-phase, population-based health and hazard study of
Ohio cash grain farmers and eligible family members is currently
underway. The project was designed as a collaborative effort
between Ohio State University, CDC/NIOSH, and the State of
Ohio. In Phase 1 of the project, which started in June of
1993 and was completed in November of 1993, a stratified random
sample of 4,860 cash grain farms was selected from the comprehensive
statewide roster maintained by the Ohio Agricultural Statistics
Service. A mixed-mode survey (i.e., a self-administered, mailed
questionnaire, with telephone follow-up of mail non-respondents)
was conducted to obtain relevant health and hazard data. The
content of the questionnaire and its design was modeled to
a great extent after NCHS's National Health Interview Survey,
a national health survey of the civilian non-institutionalized
population of the United States. As will be discussed, the
overall survey response rate ranged from 43.6% to 71.4%, depending
on the response rate definition used. Variation in response
was not seen across four farm-size strata, although regional,
and especially county-to-county, variation in response was
evident. Despite the lower-than-desired response rate, non-response
bias appears to be minimal. Reasons for non-response and preliminary
findings for selected health outcomes will also be discussed.
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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.
The
authors noted above are from: All at The Ohio State University,
Columbus, OH
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