Contact: Fred Blosser (202) 260-8519
September 29, 1997

• NIOSH is funding a new national center for research, training, and education to prevent child agricultural injuries in the United States.
• Each year, approximately 100,000 children on farms are injured and more than 100 are killed in incidents involving tractors and other machinery, livestock, building structures, and falls.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Sept. 29 announced the award of funds to the National Farm Medicine Center, Marshfield, Wis., for the creation of a major center for research, training, and education to prevent childhood agricultural injuries.

NIOSH is funding the new National Children’s Center for Agricultural Injury Prevention at approximately $600,000 per year for five years under a cooperative agreement with the National Farm Medicine Center. The action is one of several by NIOSH under a major research initiative for protecting the health and safety of children who live on, work on, or visit farms. NIOSH announced the initiative in April 1997.

“NIOSH is pleased to support the creation of a new national resource for preventing injuries among children on farms,” said Linda Rosenstock, M.D., M.P.H. “The National Farm Medicine Center’s proven record in working closely with the farming community, industry, government, and health professionals will give the new national center a vital footing for this crucial task.”

Under the terms of the cooperative agreement, the new national center will:

• House a unique, accessible data base of timely, comprehensive information about childhood agricultural injuries

• Actively disseminate information to the farming community, industry, government agencies, public health and medical professionals, and other key stakeholders for the prevention of childhood injury .

• Organize working groups from a diverse array of stakeholders to develop recommendations for protecting children on farms from injury and illness.

• Facilitate the involvement of educators, agricultural businesses, national organizations, and other major partners.

• Provide training to health and safety professionals through a potential mix of national conferences and regional seminars focused on unique local needs.

• Collaborate with well-established national health communication efforts such as the National Safety Council’s Farm Safety and Health Week.

Every year, approximately 100,000 children under the age of 20 are injured on farms, and more than 100 are killed. Agents associated with these deaths and injuries include tractors and other farm machinery, livestock, building structures, and falls.

NIOSH awarded the cooperative agreement through a competitive, peer-reviewed solicitation announced in April 1997. In other activities under its child farm safety initiative, NIOSH is conducting several internal research projects and plans shortly to award competitive grants for other research by outside organizations.

NIOSH has worked extensively with partners in the agricultural community to prevent farm injuries, including tractor roll-overs, entanglement in moving parts of heavy farm machinery, suffocation in grain bins, and electrocutions. It also funds agricultural research and injury prevention programs at university centers in 20 states.

For further information about NIOSH research on child farm safety and other agricultural health and safety issues, call the toll-free NIOSH information number, 1-800-35-NIOSH (1-800-356-4674) or visit the NIOSH site on the World Wide Web, at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/homepage.html.