R.H.
McKnight and C.A. Janney
NIOSH Education and Information Division
The
prevalence of rollover protective structures (ROPS) on farm
tractors was assessed by a telephone survey of 2283 randomly
selected Kentucky farm households with annual sales greater
than $1000. The survey was conducted in Spring, 1994, in 19
counties statewide, during Phase I of the Kentucky Farm Family
Health and Hazard Surveillance Project. Among other questions,
the survey asked how many tractors the farm had, and how many
of those tractors were equipped with rollover protection.
A household was included in the analysis if it had at least
one farm tractor and the respondent indicated the ROPS status
of the tractor(s).
Of the
2150 farm households analyzed, 54% had no ROPS-equipped tractor.
Only 13.6% of the households had all of their farm tractors
equipped with ROPS. The likelihood of having at least one
ROPS-equipped tractor was significantly greater if the principal
farm operator was male (Odds Ratio [OR] = 1.62, 95% Confidence
Interval [CI] = 1.07 - 2.46), was under 65 years of age (OR
= 1.44, CI = 1.18 - 1.77), and did not have an off-the-farm
job (OR = 1.34, CI = 1.12 - 1.59). In addition, farms with
at least one ROPS-equipped tractor had a significantly greater
number of farm tractors (2.9 vs. 1.9, p<0.01), had greater
acreage (274 vs. 124, p<0.01), and had more non-household
workers on the farm (4.2 vs. 3.3, p<0.05). The presence of
children in the household was not significantly associated
with having a ROPS-equipped tractor (p>0.05).
The
lack of rollover protection places the tractor operator at
higher risk of death in rollover and, thus, represents a significant
occupational hazard on farms. Despite the availability of
ROPS on new machinery or for retrofit, over half the farms
in Kentucky do not yet use ROPS to reduce the risk of fatality
in a rollover. In Phase II of the study, additional information
on commodities, tractor age, tractor use, and prior tractor
rollovers will be collected from these households. Results
from this hazard surveillance will aid in targeting high-risk
farm households for ROPS intervention programs.
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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: Both at the University of Kentucky,
Lexington, KY.
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