Risk factors for serious farm-work related injury among adult males [ 2002 - 2005 ]

Research Grant

Researchers: Prof Lesley Day (Principal investigator) ,  Dr Don Voaklander ,  Prof Malcolm Sim ,  Prof Rory Wolfe

Brief description This study addresses occupational injury among male adult farm workers. The health and safety performance of agricultural industries is among the worst in Australia. A recently published study of work-related fatalities from 1989 to 1992 found that rural industries ranked third, with a fatality rate 3-4 times that for all industries. The rural industries accounted for 80 deaths annually. Best estimates place the cost of farm injury between $0.5 and $1.29 billion per year. This study is designed to contribute to farm injury prevention by: (1) identifying factors associated with a higher risk of serious injury among adult farm workers and (2) determining the proportions of the farm workforce who are exposed to various injury risks. The study will recruit 300 seriously injured or killed farm workers from regional Victoria and collect information about themselves, their working life and the property on which they work. This information will be compared with 600 randomly selected farm workers who are not seriously injured to determine which personal, work and environmental factors place farm workers at higher risk of injury. The study will lead to the development of new or more refined prevention strategies and programs. A study of this kind has not been conducted before in Australia and would contribute to a continuing scientific basis for selection of interventions for farm injury and targeting of prevention programs, at a time of increasing momentum in agricultural health and safety.

Funding Amount $AUD 665,930.00

Funding Scheme NHMRC Project Grants

Notes Epidemiology