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The purpose of this project is to provide a functioning surveillance approach to monitor childhood agricultural injuries in the US. Primary objectives are to track and assess the magnitude and characteristics of fatal and nonfatal injuries to youth on US farming operations. To achieve the objectives, NIOSH developed a surveillance system centered on relationships with the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) and the US Department of Labor (USDOL).
NIOSH collaborates with NASS to conduct surveys on farm operators to assess childhood safety and health issues occurring on farms. Two types of youth surveys have been conducted by NASS for NIOSH: the Childhood Agricultural Injury Survey (CAIS), which is representative of all farms in the US, and the Minority Agricultural Injury Survey (M-CAIS) that covers racial minority and Hispanic farm operations specifically. Both surveys collect information from farm operators on the number of farm-related youth injuries that occur in a specified calendar year, characteristics of these injuries, numbers of household youth on the farm, young workers employed on the farm, youth visitors on the farm, and youth exposure to known farm hazards. In addition to the survey response data, NASS provides NIOSH with farm demographic information including type of operation and size of farm as measured by value of sales. Current data analyses focus on the following areas: ethnic and minority farm youth; exposures to all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), horses, and tractors; and farm work experiences. Four CAIS surveys have been completed for the following calendar years: 1998, 2001, 2004, and 2006. Two M-CAIS surveys were conducted for the calendar years 2000 and 2003. Future M-CAIS surveys will be conducted in years ending in 3 and 8, while future CAIS surveys will be conducted in years ending in 4 and 9.
NIOSH continues collaborating with USDOL on the National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS) youth farm worker injury module to assess farm injuries to workers under 20 years old, specifically for ethnic, minority, immigrant, and migrant populations. Youth injury data has been collected through the NAWS for the years 1999, and 2002 through 2004. NIOSH provided USDOL with financial support to continue the collection of NAWS data in 2008. Youth farm worker injury data will continue to be collected through the NAWS through 2010.
As part of the overall surveillance system, NIOSH will continue reporting childhood agricultural injury data available from other sources such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) and will support efforts to develop new approaches and methodologies to improve the system. Finally, NIOSH will continue collecting death certificates for all on-farm traumatic deaths that occurred to youth less than 20 years of age as identified by state vital statistics registrars.
There were an estimated 1,120,000 youth less than 20 years of age living on farms in the US during 2006.
There were an estimated 307,000 youth who did not live on the farm, but were directly hired by a farm operator to work on a farm in 2006.
There were an estimated 23,100 restricted activity injuries that occurred to youth, less than 20 years old, who lived, visited, or were directly hired to work on the farm in 1998. Of these injuries about 5,800 were related to doing work on the farm.
Youth living on farms accounted for the most farm injuries in 2006 (approx. 11,800 injuries), followed by visitors (approx. 5,600 injuries), and hired workers (approx. 1,400 injuries).
The rate of injuries was similar in all four regions of the Unites States during 2006. The highest rate was in the South at 10.8 injuries per 1000 youth, followed by the West at 9.6 injuries per 1000 youth, the Northeast at 8.7 injuries per 1000 youth, and Midwest at 7.9 injuries per 1000 youth.
Between 1998 and 2006, the estimated number of farm-related injuries occurring to youth less than 20 years of age decreased from 37,800 to 23,100. The estimated number of work-related injuries decreased from 16,700 to 5,800.
The rate of injury decreased between 1998 and 2006 from 13.6 injuries per 1000 youth to 9.2 injuries per 1000 youth. The work-related injury rate decreased from 8.9 injuries per 1000 youth to 6.5 injuries per 1000 youth.
There were an estimated 34,000 youth less than 20 years of age living on racial minority farm operations in the US during 2003. An estimated 37,100 youth less than 20 years of age lived on Hispanic operated farms that same year.
There were an estimated 7,000 youth who did not live on a racial minority farm operation, but were directly hired by a farm operator to work on the farm in 2003. Hispanic farm operations employed 9,900 non-family hired workers that same year.
There were an estimated 630 restricted activity injuries that occurred to youth, less than 20 years old, who lived, visited, or were directly hired to work on a racial minority farm in 2003. Of these injuries about 230 were related to doing work on these racial minority farms. For Hispanic operated farms, an estimated 540 injuries to youth less than 20 years old, of which 200 were work-related.
Youth living on racial minority farm operations accounted for the most farm injuries in 2003 (approx. 410 injuries), followed by visitors (approx. 179 injuries), and hired workers (approx. 14 injuries). Household youth also accounted for the most injuries on Hispanic operated farms (approx. 340 injuries), followed by visitors (approx. 180 injuries), and hired workers (approx. 30 injuries).
The rate of injuries differed by race during 2003. The highest rate was found on Native American farming operations at 19.7 injuries per 1000 youth, followed by the Multi-racial farm operations at 18.4 injuries per 1000 youth, Asian farm operations at 3.6 injuries per 1000 youth, and Black farm operations at 3.0 injuries per 1000 youth. For Hispanic operated farms, the injury rate was 7.7 injuries per 1000 youth.
There were an average of 254,000 youth under the age of 20 who were hired to do farm work in between October 1998 and September 1999.
There were an estimated 3,900 restricted activity injuries that occurred to these youth during this time period. The rate of injury was about 1.5 injuries per 100 farm workers.
Between 1995 and 2000, there was an average of 116 deaths per year to youth less than 20 years old that occurred on US farms.
The rate of on-farm deaths was highest for youth 16-19 years old at 10.4 deaths per 100,000 farm youth. This was followed by youth less than 10 years old at 10.1 deaths per 100,000 farm youth, and youth 10-15 years old at 7.1 deaths per 100,000 farm youth.
The leading cause of death for youth less than 16 years old was machinery (137 deaths). For youth 16-19 years of age, the leading cause of death was suicide (41 deaths).
Between 1992 and 2002, there was an average of 28 deaths per year to youth less than 20 years old due to working on a US farm.
The rate of work-related deaths to youth 15-19 years old increased 14% on farms between the time period 1992-1996 and the time period 1997-2002.
The leading cause of death for youth working on farms were vehicles (50% of all deaths), with tractors accounting for 54% of the deaths in this category. Tractors accounted for 27% of all the agricultural production young worker fatalities followed by machinery (22% of all deaths).