Nonfatal Injuries to Household Youth on Native American Operated Farms in the U.S., 2000

Abstract

In 2000, there were an estimated 7,381 youth living on 9,556 U.S. farms operated by Native Americans. Most of these youth (5,454, 74%) lived on livestock operations (6,833 farms, 72%). In that year, youth living on Native American operated farms sustained an estimated 177 nonfatal injuries. The majority of all injuries to household youth (147, 83%) occurred on livestock operations. Males accounted for 112 (63%) of the injuries to household youth. Overall, household youth on Native American operated farms had an injury rate of 24.0 injuries per 1,000 household youth compared to a rate of 8.1 injuries per 1,000 household youth on all other minority-operated farms. The rate ratio for work-related injuries to household youth on Native American farms compared to other minority-operated farms was 2.1. Although female youth on these farms experienced a similar non-work injury rate of 13.8 injuries per 1,000 female household youth compared to a rate of 15.1 injuries per 1,000 male household youth, the work-related injury rate for male youth (30.2 per 1,000 male household youth) was substantially higher than the work-related injury rate for female household youth (18.3 per 1,000 female household youth). These data indicate an elevated risk of injury for youth living on farms operated by Native Americans. This result is attributed to the large percentage of livestock operations for this population and the hazards associated with this type of farming. However, further research is needed to more fully understand these results and to guide culturally appropriate interventions within this population.