Risk Factors for Pesticide Poisoning in Horticultural Farmers in the Agricultural Area of West Seram Regency, Indonesia

Abstract

Background: In the field of environmental health, pesticide poisoning is still an important health problem in agricultural areas, especially horticultural agriculture, as a result of the risky habit of using pesticides. This study aimed to analyse the risk factors for poisoning in horticultural farmers in West Seram District, Indonesia. Methodology: This study applied a cross-sectional design, involving 298 farmers selected by proportional random sampling technique. The risk factors studied included tenure, the use of personal protective equipment, duration of spraying, frequency of spraying, number of types of pesticides, method of mixing, direction of spraying, and dose of pesticides, smoking while spraying, washing hands when eating, drinking while spraying, spraying time and personal hygiene. Data were collected through interviews, then analyzed using multiple logistic regression test. Results: The results showed that the p-value for each factor was use of personal protective equipment = 0.025, frequency of spraying = 0.023, method of mixing pesticides = 0.004, direction of spraying = 0.017 and personal hygiene = 0.002. Conclusions: It could be concluded that the use of personal protective equipment, personal hygiene, frequency of spraying, method of mixing and spraying direction are risk factors for pesticide poisoning in horticultural farmers.