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National AgrAbility Project Demographic Analysis: Serving Farmers and Ranchers with Disabilities

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

Citation:  Paper number  055014,  2005 ASAE Annual Meeting . (doi: 10.13031/2013.19536) @2005
Authors:   Ronald T. Schuler, Leah Nell Adams, R. H. Meyer
Keywords:   disability, injury, demographics, AgrAbility, paraplegia, quadriplegia, amputations

In spite of the fact that farming is a dangerous occupation, and the incidence of injury and disability is high, very little is known regarding the characteristics of farmers and ranchers with disabilities. This paper provides an analysis of three years (2001-2004) of demographic data to describe the characteristics of AgrAbility clients who are farmers and ranchers with disabilities in states with funded AgrAbility programs. The National AgrAbility Project collects and aggregates client demographic data reported each year by state and regional AgrAbility projects. In addition to describing the baseline characteristics collected each year, the data can be analyzed to evaluate characteristics of subsets of the client population. Disability status in relation to type of farm, age, cause of disability, and gender are described. Results show that clients on dairy farms report a lower incidence of paraplegia and higher incidents of orthopedic, joint and back injury than clients from other types of farms. There are distinct categories of disabilities associated with younger versus older clients. Clients with amputations report a high incidence of tractor incidents, and clients reporting paraplegia and quadriplegia report a high incidence of vehicle incidents. Farming women report a higher incidence of multiple sclerosis and arthritis and a lower incidence of amputations and paraplegia than men. One quarter of all AgrAbility clients report more than one disability, and 8% report a third condition. While an analysis of AgrAbility clients does not equate with the farming population in general, academic or research institutions can use the results of this data as a starting point to initiate research and eventually provide services to a larger agricultural community.

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