Farm Fatalities Research Articles

Fatal Unintentional Injuries Among Kentucky Farm Children: 1979 to 1985*

ABSTRACT: The hazards of farming among adults have been well described, but less has been published regarding the nature of farm injuries among children. Fatal farm injuries in Kentucky among children under 14 years of age usually have involved agricultural equipment, primarily tractors. The average annual age specific rates for fatal injuries in Kentucky among farm children ranged from 14.8 per 100,000 to 28.5 per 100,000 for boys, and from 11.8 per 100,000 to 3.1 per 100,000 for girls. Many of these deaths could have been prevented by not allowing children to ride on tractors, or by using infant and child restraints in motor vehicles. In the older age group (10 to 14 years of age), many deaths were due to drowning, so drowning prevention programs could reduce the number of fatal injuries. Exposure to environmental hazards differ for farm children and prevention programs in this population need to target those special hazards.

Fatal Farm Injuries Among Young Children

Death certificate data concerning farm-related injury deaths among children 0 to 9 years of age in Wisconsin and Illinois for the period of 1979 to 1985 were reviewed. Average annual farm-related injury death rates were 3.2 per 100,000 rural children in Wisconsin (62 deaths) and 1.5 per 100,000 in Illinois (32 deaths). Rates were three times higher among boys than girls. The occurrence of two harvest-related peaks and the absence of fatality in children less than 1 year of age suggest that presence of children on the farm when supervision is diminished is a key factor in farm-related fatalities. Moving machinery (tractors, wagons, and trucks) was the source of injury in approximately 55% of all deaths. Drowning accounted for 15% of all farm-related deaths. Two fatalities related to gravity box wagons could have easily been prevented with simple safety devices. These findings suggest a need for developing environmental interventions in farms. This will require the allocation of more resources to farm safety programs and a revision of current farm safety legislation.

The spectrum of farming accidents seen in Irish general practice: a one-year survey.

A one-year prospective survey of farming accidents in three Irish counties recruited 37 general practitioners in a wide geographical sample. The response rate to the survey was 84%. There were 319 accident cases seen by the general practitioners in the survey period, and 175 (55%) of these were farmers. Children accounted for 52 (16%) of all accident cases. The majority of cases (256, 80%) were treated by the general practitioner, and the spectrum of injuries treated was very broad. Many injuries required extensive suturing and follow-up of soft-tissue injuries. General practitioner coroners were involved with five fatal farm accident cases. It is concluded that the Irish rural general practitioner is providing a significant trauma service to farm accident victims, and is a valuable source of information on these incidents. The general practitioner would be a local source of expertise in a health education campaign directed at increasing the awareness among the farming community on the extent of farm accident morbidity and mortality. Continuing education for rural general practitioners should be directed towards regular updates on trauma management.