WORK-RELATED INJURIES AMONG IOWA FARM OPERATORS - AN ANALYSIS OF THE IOWA FARM FAMILY HEALTH AND HAZARD SURVEILLANCE PROJECT

In 1994, the Iowa Farm Family Health and Hazard Surveillance Project c arried out a two-stage, stratified, cluster survey of Iowa farms using a mail survey. With data from this representative sample of Iowa farm ers, we examined the associations between farm-work-related injuries a nd possible risk factors for 390 principal farm operators. Forty (10.3 %) of these operators reported being injured while doing farm work. We developed a logistic regression to assess associations between potent ial risk factors and injury. We found three factors significantly asso ciated with injury: younger age (odds ratio [OR] = 3.1, confidence int erval [CI] = 1.1-9.3), having an impairment or health problem that lim its work (OR = 2.4, CI = 1.5-3.8), and hand or ann exposure to acids o r alkalis (OR = 2.6, CI = 1.1-5.9). In the univariate analysis, safety training did not seem to protect farmers from injuries. (C) 1998 Wile y-Liss, Inc.