Spinal Cord Injury in the Australian Agricultural Work Force

Abstract

While it has long been recognized that working in the agricultural industries isassociated with an exacerbated risk of injury, the extent of the additional risk is not wellunderstood. This current research investigated the incidence and prevalence of spinalcord injury (SCI) in a defined population and calculated the additional risk of sufferinga SCI associated with working in the agricultural industries as well as the additionalrisk associated with suffering a SCI that is work-related. Through the analysis of allnew traumatic spinal cord injuries between 1990 and 1996 in southeastern Australia, itwas found that those working in the agricultural industry were at more than six timesgreater risk of suffering a SCI than were the remainder of the population. Whenagricultural workers risk of SCI was compared with the risk of those employed in otherindustries, it was found that they were at approximately five times greater risk. Further,agricultural workers odds of suffering work-related SCI was more than twice that ofthose who worked in industries other than agriculture. Based on these findings it wasconcluded that those employed in the agricultural industries are not only a group inneed of primary intervention services, but they are also in need of secondary andtertiary interventions to allow them to return to a productive life following injury.