Animal-Related Activities as Risk Factors for Injuries Among Youth on Agricultural Operations

ABSTRACT

Working with animals on agricultural operations is hazardous for youths. This study evaluated the associations between activities and injuries related to specific animal types. A case-control study within the Regional Rural Injury Study II included 425 youths (less than 20 years of age) with injuries related to their operation and 1,886 controls (randomly selected youths). Exposures of interest were collected for the months prior to injury events for cases and randomly selected months for controls, based on an injury incidence algorithm. Multivariate logistic regression characterized associations between specific animal-related activities and injury outcomes among youths who reported working with the same animals. Large proportions of cases and controls, respectively, worked with beef cattle (47%, 28%), followed by horses (28%, 14%), and dairy cattle (22%, 12%). Feeding was the primary activity associated with animals; over 80% of cases and controls were involved in this activity during relevant exposure months, followed by milking (63%, 44%) among those working with dairy cows and herding (81%, 61%) among beef cattle workers. Elevated risk of dairy cattle–related injury was associated with milking (odds ratio [OR]: 2.5; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.0–6.6) whereas beef cattle–related injuries were associated with calving (OR: 4.2; 95% CI: 2.1–8.6) and footwork (OR: 2.2; 95% CI: 1.0–4.9). Among youths working with animals, explicit activities can be identified that are associated with animal-specific injuries. The identification of relevant hazardous tasks is necessary for the development of effective prevention measures.     

Smoking as a Risk Factor for Injury Death: A Meta-Analysis of Cohort Studies

Background.Injury and tobacco effects represent one-quarter of the global burden of disease. Understanding the causes of injury and the effects of smoking may help reduce those burdens. Some smokers have high risks of injury. We provide an initial meta-analysis of cohort associations between smoking and fatal injury.Methods.Three authors independently searched MEDLINE, and bibliographies of the pertinent studies found, for cigarette smoker-specific injury death data which allowed estimation of an appropriate relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Relative risks and dose response were summarized by fixed effects and Poisson modeling, respectively.Results.Six studies covering 10 pertinent cohorts were located. Associations between smoking and injury death have been significant after adjustment or, in effect, stratification for age, race, sex, country, and, respectively, alcohol, marriage, education, and body mass; job and time period; job, alcohol, and exercise; etc. Summary-dose response trends were significantly positive (P< 0.00005). Cigarette smoking predicted summary injury death crude RRs of 1.61 (CI 1.44–1.81) vs never smokers and 1.39 (CI 1.25–1.55) vs ex-smokers.Conclusions.Smoking has significant, consistent, dose-response, often strong and independent, prospective associations with injury death, internationally.     

Equipment Engineering Issues Associated with Childhood Agricultural Injuries

Many children have been seriously or fatally injured in the course of their exposure to agricultural equipment. They are injured as workers or bystanders, sometimes when accompanying adults. Engineers face several issues with respect to designs of agricultural equipment, which might reduce childhood agricultural injuries. These involve farmer desires to behaviors, age-appropriate behaviors of children, the potential efficacy of various features, and the net impact on the injury situation of features that accommodate children. This paper examines these issues and calls for diverse input and research into these areas.     

Agricultural Injuries and Illnesses in Texas

SUMMARY

The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program and the Annual Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, which are conducted by states in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, can provide some useful prevalence and case characteristic data for states that do not have other comprehensive agricultural injury and illness surveillance programs. In Texas, these programs have been the primary source of surveillance data, despite certain limitations inherent in the programs. CFOI findings for Texas in 1994 indicate a rate of 13 fatal work injuries per 100,000 agricultural workers in Texas, more than twice the rate for all workers in the state. Vehicles and machinery combined accounted for over half of all fatal work injuries in agriculture in the state between 1991 and 1994. Results from the Annual Survey indicate a nonfatal incidence rate of 307 events involving days away from work per 10,000 agricultural workers. Overexertion, falls, and workers struck by objects led all other nonfatal events in the industry in 1993.     

医疗风险损害社会保障体系的构建

本文通过对医疗风险性损害的国内状况以及国内外的处理机制进行了分析比较,提出了建立医疗风险性损害社会保障体系的建议。指出医疗风险性损害社会保障体系的构建,需要对医患双方面临的医疗风险与所具有的抗风险能力进行定性及定量分析,并结合法律法规以及其他国家的经验教训进行周密设计,应从5个方面展开研究：医疗风险性损害的处理方式、分担方式、监控方式,公共医疗秩序管理方式及相应的立法工作。     

Burn and Cut Injuries Related to Job Stress among Kitchen Workers in Japan

To clarify the correlation between kitchen work-related burns and cuts and job stress, a self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted involving 991 kitchen workers among 126 kitchen facilities. The demographics, condition of burns and cuts, job stress with the Brief Job Stress Questionnaire (BJSQ), health condition, and work-related and environmental factors were surveyed. Multiple logistic regression models and trend tests were used according to quartiles (Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4) of each sub-scale BJSQ. After adjustment for potential confounding variables, burns/cuts were associated with a higher score category (Q4) of job demands (OR: 2.56, 95% CI: 1.10–6.02/OR: 2.72, 95% CI: 1.30–5.69), psychological stress (OR: 4.49, 95% CI: 2.05–9.81/OR: 3.52, 95% CI: 1.84–6.72), and physical stress (OR: 2.41, 95% CI: 1.20–4.98/OR 2.16, 95% CI: 1.16–4.01). The ORs of the burn/cut injures increased from Q1 to Q4 with job demands (p for trend = 0.045/0.003), psychological stress (p for trend<0.001/0.001), and physical stress (p for trend = 0.006/0.005), respectively. These findings suggest that kitchen work-related burns and cuts are more likely to be correlated with job stress, and the higher the job stress score, the higher the frequency of burns and cuts among kitchen workers.     

North Carolina State Agencies Working to Prevent Agricultural Injuries and Illnesses

ABSTRACT

Over the past 25 years, the North Carolina Departments of Labor, Agriculture and Consumer Services, and Health and Human Services have worked with farmers, farmworkers, commodity and trade associations, universities, and cooperative extension agents to develop programs to decrease the occurrence of injuries and illnesses among agricultural workers and their families. The Bureau of Agricultural Safety and Health in the North Carolina Department of Labor helped craft the Migrant Housing Act, created the Gold Star program, and developed numerous projects promoting rural highway safety and farm safety. The Structural Pest Control & Pesticides Division in the North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services administers programs funded by the Pesticide Environmental Trust Fund (PETF), including the Pesticide Container Recycling Program, Pesticide Disposal Assistance Program (PDAP), and Soil Fumigation Training. The Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch (OEEB) in the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services developed public health surveillance programs for pesticide incidents and carbon monoxide poisoning. These projects, programs, and policies demonstrate the work that North Carolina state agencies are doing to improve the health of agricultural workers and their families.     

儿童烧伤的危险因素研究进展

本文回顾了国内外有关儿童烧伤的文献，对儿童烧伤的危险因素及其干预进行了综述，为预防儿童烧伤和以后的研究工作提供依据。     

宁夏中小学生伤害的危险因素分析

目的 探讨导致中小学意外伤害的危险因素，为预防和减少青少年意外伤害的发生提供依据。方法 采用整群抽样的方法，对宁夏11所中学，10的小学的6－19岁在校中小学生7000人在1年中伤害发生情况进行调查。结果 伤害发生率为20．4％，男生（23．76％）高于女生（16．93％）（P＜0．050，中学生（23．19％）高于小学生（17．63％）（P＜0．005），回族学生（22．11％）高于汉族学生（19．6％）（P＜0．05）。前5位伤害依次为跌伤（8．51％），碰伤（3．38％），刀割伤（1．88％），车辆伤（1．34％）和烧烫伤（0．87％）。意外伤害的发生与性别，年龄，民族，地区，性格，心理状况，母亲化程度，父母职业，父母婚姻状况，家庭多子女及家庭经济状况等因素有一定关系。结论 青少年意外伤害是多因素相互作用的结果，应加强预防研究。     

某有色金属矿山职业伤害瞬时危险因素研究

目的探索有色金属矿山职业伤害的瞬时危险因素，估计其作用强度，为及时纠正，采取应急措施，避免职业伤害的发生提供科学依据。方法用病例一交叉设计方法，研究职业伤害是否由某些称瞬时危险因素所诱发。以某有色金属企业下属4个矿山2006年131例职业伤害者为病例和对照。结果24h及1周配对时间段分析都有15项以上因素进入回归方程，其中与家人同事关系、是否执行安全员要求，是否进入不安全场所、是否执行作业规程，注意力是否集中、衣着是否安全、工作班次、受伤地点，设备运转，操作是否犯错等因素OR值大于1，是职业伤害的危险因素；一般频数法分析有工作条件、劳动管理以及个人因素方面的11项危险因素OR值大于1。结论有色金属矿山职业伤害发生与多项瞬时危险因素关联。预防和控制瞬时危险因素，保护重点人群，开展健康促进计划，可以有效地控制和减少职业伤害的发生。     

铝作业工人职业性慢性肌肉骨骼损伤危险因素分析

目的 了解电解铝厂工人职业性慢性肌肉骨胳损伤（ＣＭＩ）患者病情况及其危险因素。方法 采用横断面现况调查问卷与临床检查相结合的方法对各有关危险因素进行逐一询问及ＣＭＩ诊断。结果 电解铝厂工人总体ＣＭＩ患病主继６２．５％,各车间不同工种工人ＣＭＩ串病率差异无显著意义,但均高于对照组（２８．５％）。多因素Ｌｏｇｉｓｔｉｃ回归提示,ＣＭＩ患病与性别、年龄、身高、文化程度、婚姻状况、子女数、工作紧张度、工作     

Agricultural Hazards Reduction Through Stress Management

ABSTRACT

This paper describes a community based program to reduce farm hazards through recognition and training about the role of stress in farm health and safety. Through data from focus groups and a questionnaire administered at the 1993 Agricultural Exposition in Spokane, Washington it was hypothesized that occupational stres-sors are perceived by farmers to be significantly related to farm injuries. Farm-related stressors include economic pressures such as debt burden, weather, undependable farm labor, government regulation, and market variability and costs. A workshop to aid farmers was developed and conducted in Eastern Washington state to provide farmers with information about how stressors may be affecting them and to introduce and encourage interventions that alleviate stress as a potential source of farm injury. A summary of the workshop presentations and a brief analysis of the effectiveness of this intervention program follow. Evaluation data from workshop participants and from random samples of Eastern Washington farmers are analyzed. The reported results demonstrate stress reduction in workshop participants.     

Quantifying Urbanization as a Risk Factor for Noncommunicable Disease

The aim of this study was to investigate the poorly understood relationship between the process of urbanization and noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in Sri Lanka using a multicomponent, quantitative measure of urbanicity. NCD prevalence data were taken from the Sri Lankan Diabetes and Cardiovascular Study, comprising a representative sample of people from seven of the nine provinces in Sri Lanka (n = 4,485/5,000; response rate = 89.7%). We constructed a measure of the urban environment for seven areas using a 7-item scale based on data from study clusters to develop an “urbanicity” scale. The items were population size, population density, and access to markets, transportation, communications/media, economic factors, environment/sanitation, health, education, and housing quality. Linear and logistic regression models were constructed to examine the relationship between urbanicity and chronic disease risk factors. Among men, urbanicity was positively associated with physical inactivity (odds ratio [OR] = 3.22; 2.27–4.57), high body mass index (OR = 2.45; 95% CI, 1.88–3.20) and diabetes mellitus (OR = 2.44; 95% CI, 1.66–3.57). Among women, too, urbanicity was positively associated with physical inactivity (OR = 2.29; 95% CI, 1.64–3.21), high body mass index (OR = 2.92; 95% CI, 2.41–3.55), and diabetes mellitus (OR = 2.10; 95% CI, 1.58 – 2.80). There is a clear relationship between urbanicity and common modifiable risk factors for chronic disease in a representative sample of Sri Lankan adults.     

Shyness as a Risk Factor for Adolescent Substance Use

The role of shyness in adolescent substance use was examined in a sample of about 1,300 high school students from 14 senior high schools. Sample members were classified as not-shy, shy, or super-shy based on scores from an established measure of shyness, the Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale. Significant shyness category by gender interaction analysis of variance effects and gender-specific chi-square analyses indicated shy males were more likely to use marijuana or hashish, cocaine, amphetamines, and hallucinogenic substances than not-shy males and females. Further, super-shy males were more likely to report use of most of the substances than shy males. Super-shy females were less likely to drink alcohol than females who were less shy or not-shy. Findings from this study, as well as studies investigating other behavioral problems, suggest shyness may be more a burden for males than for females. Use of certain substances may assist very shy males cope with shyness by reducing psychosocial discomfort and inhibition.     

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.     

Risk Factors for Severe Intimate Partner Violence and Violence-Related Injuries Among Women in India

Relying on an ecological framework, we examined risk factors for severe physical intimate partner violence (IPV) and related injuries among a nationally representative sample of women (N = 67,226) in India. Data for this cross-sectional study were derived from the 2005–2006 India National Family Health Survey, a nationally representative household-based health surveillance system. Logistic regression analyses were used to generate the study findings. We found that factors related to severe physical IPV and injuries included low or no education, low socioeconomic status, rural residence, greater number of children, and separated or divorced marital status. Husbands’ problem drinking, jealousy, suspicion, control, and emotionally and sexually abusive behaviors were also related to an increased likelihood of women experiencing severe IPV and injuries. Other factors included women’s exposure to domestic violence in childhood, perpetration of IPV, and adherence to social norms that accept husbands’ violence. Practitioners may use these findings to identify women at high risk of being victimized by severe IPV or injuries for prevention and intervention strategies. Policies and programs that focus on empowering abused women and holding perpetrators accountable may protect women at risk for severe IPV or injuries that may result in death.