Risk Factors for Injury in Rural Iowa: Preliminary Data from the Keokuk County Rural Health Study

Abstract

Preliminary analyses of data from one third of the Keokuk County Rural Health Study cohort suggest that risk factors for injury among rural populations are not uniformly distributed and 296that the pattern varies with the risk factor. For some, such as exposure to all-terrain vehicles, the occupation of farmer determines the degree of exposure to the risk factor. Similarly, farmers seem less likely than other rural people to wear their seat belts. Although farmers are not more likely than rural nonfarmers to have firearms in their homes, they are more likely to have used them in the last year. However, for other injury risk factors such as alcohol consumption, there do not appear to be differences among farmers, rural nonfarmers, and townspeople. These early results suggest that the Keokuk County Rural Health Study will yield important information for targeting specific rural injury prevention interventions. [Article copies available for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery Service: 1-800-342-9678. E-mail address: getinfo@haworth.com]