ASABE Technical Library - Abstract

A Multi-Method Approach to Agricultural Injury and Illness Surveillance

Published by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, St. Joseph, Michigan www.asabe.org

Citation:  Paper number  038023,  2003 ASAE Annual Meeting . (doi: 10.13031/2013.14251) @2003
Authors:   Theresa M. Costello, Gary Mirka, Susan Gustke
Keywords:   agriculture, surveillance, occupational injury and illness, ergonomics, WMSD

OSHA occupational injury and illness logs offer a valuable but limited means of identifying high risk job tasks and work environments for safety interventions, especially in agriculture. Surveillance offers an additional source of information regarding occupational injuries and illness (OI&I). Crop production is often labor intensive and requires extensive amounts of repetitive bending, stooping, lifting, and carrying, which are considered high-risk job characteristics for work related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD) that can be addressed with ergonomic interventions. A multimethod surveillance approach was used to identify the most physically challenging agricultural production environments and job tasks to be addressed with ergonomic interventions. The North Carolina market was selected as the target for surveillance and ergonomic intervention based on: its ranking among the top ten US agricultural producers; and, its market leadership role in major crops such as tobacco, sweet potatoes, and cucumbers. Surveillance mechanisms targeted: farmers, farmworkers, extension agents, agricultural scientists and engineers, community health care clinics, and health-care related farmworker outreach programs. Farmers were surveyed at farm shows. Farmworker input was obtained through: a clinic-level occupational injury and illness (OI&I) intake pilot surveillance program conducted at the Robeson Health Clinic in Fairmont, NC; through OI&I health care outreach services provided at church facilities, community events, and flea markets; and agricultural students attending North Carolina State University. Agricultural extension agents, crop scientists and engineers associated with North Carolina State University (NCSU) provided input. The weighting criteria used to identify major agricultural environments and job tasks for targeted ergonomic intervention included: production volume and value of agricultural product; work force requirements; incidence of OI&I reporting; future market growth potential; level and nature of mechanization; and levels of planting and harvesting process innovation. Farmers reported WMSD most often in conjunction with equipment (e.g., climbing up/down equipment; equipment coupling; and equipment operation). Children of farmers, who work in agriculture, reported WMSD most often in conjunction with animal care, hay bailing, and equipment coupling and operation. Farmworkers reported experiencing increased WMSD with: tobacco topping (e.g., shoulder WMSD; forearm and wrist tendonitis); tobacco leaf harvesting and curing barn work (e.g., neck, shoulder, back, and lower extremity WMSD); sweet potato harvesting (e.g., neck, shoulder, back, and lower extremity WMSD; and fingernail tearing); cucumber harvesting (e.g., neck, shoulder, back, and lower extremity WMSD); and watermelon harvesting (e.g., neck, shoulder, and upper extremity WMSD). Agricultural experts identified tomato planting and harvesting, and Christmas tree trimming as high-risk areas for WMSD and injury. Clinic-level surveillance showed that primarily the women and children of farmworker families use clinic-level health services. Urinary tract infections were the most common diagnoses. Clinic-level intake findings show male farmworkers were treated for injuries related to tobacco harvesters and falling objects in the curing barn environment. Findings suggest that the use of different sources of surveillance provides a more comprehensive and richer perspective of the ergonomic challenges to be addressed. The presentation will address issues and learning experiences pertaining to surveillance target group access and methodology, in addition to discussions of key findings and recommendations for ergonomic interventions.

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