USE OF A LIFE EVENTS CALENDAR APPROACH TO ELICIT OCCUPATIONAL HISTORYFROM FARMERS

Background Precise and valid exposure assessment is generally the prim ary challenge in retrospective occupational epidemiology studies, part icularly when the only available method for exposure characterization is a personal interview. Agricultural workers may represent a particul ar challenge; for example, whereas many farmers have worked from child hood at the same location, raising the same crops and animals, they ma y have used different equipment, chemicals, and protective gear over t ime. One method to assist in recall is the ''life events calendar'' a cognitive tool based on the subject's own life history to help anchor occupational activities in time. Methods Unstructured interviews of fa rmers, focus groups, and pilot interviews among rural men, primarily A frican-Americans, were conducted to create a questionnaire for obtaini ng farm history information within the context of personal life events . Results Farmers used both personal events and national events (as we ll as events relating directly to farming) to recall their activities, These subjects had extensive history of farming (10-75 years) and che mical use (median lifetime chemicals = 13). Conclusion The life events calendar provided a useful tool to facilitate the recall of a lifetim e of agricultural activity. Life events calendars are useful additions to the tools available for retrospective occupational exposure assess ment. (C) 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.