An outcome evaluation of a New Zealand farm safety intervention: a historical cohort study

Occupational Safety and Health Education Experience and Prevention Service Needs among South Korean Farmers: A National Survey

OBJECTIVE

Objective data on farmers' awareness of occupational safety and health are needed for the development of national policy measures. Yet, relevant research is lacking in South Korea.

METHODS

This study investigated occupational safety and health education experience, perceived needs for prevention services, and factors affecting these among South Korean farmers. The data are from a personal-visit survey conducted on 9,970 sample farms nationwide.

RESULTS

While 69.9% of the farmers felt the need for agricultural health and safety education and 60.6% were willing to receive it, only 30.3% had at least one educational experience. A total of 51.9% felt the need for professional on-farm services. By group, education experience and perceived need for prevention services were consistently low among women, people aged 70 or older, low-income individuals, or farmers with a farming career duration of less than five years. Experience of safety and health education increased the desire for other prevention services: people who had received safety and health education were 6.4 times more likely to feel the need for education, 5.5 times more willing to participate in education, 2.0 times more likely to feel the need to improve their work environments, and 1.7 times more likely to feel the need for professional on-farm services.

CONCLUSION

Despite the high desire for injury prevention services, farmers have had very limited opportunities to receive safety education; measures are also needed for groups whose safety education has been neglected. Further studies on education methods and on-farm services tailored to South Korean farmers are needed.

Decade of fatal injuries in workers in New Zealand: insights from a comprehensive national observational study

Introduction

Current priorities and strategies to prevent work-related fatal injury (WRFI) in New Zealand (NZ) are based on incomplete data capture. This paper provides an overview of key results from a comprehensive 10-year NZ study of worker fatalities using coronial records.

Methods

A data set of workers, aged 15–84 years at the time of death who died in the period 2005–2014, was created using coronial records. Data collection involved: (1) identifying possible cases from mortality records using selected external cause of injury codes; (2) linking these to coronial records; (3) retrieving and reviewing records for work-relatedness; and (4) coding work-related cases. Frequencies, percentages and rates were calculated. Analyses were stratified into workplace and work-traffic settings.

Results

Over the decade, 955 workers were fatally injured, giving a rate of 4.8 (95% CI 5.6 to 6.3) per 100 000 worker-years. High rates of worker fatalities were observed for workers aged 70–84 years, indigenous Māori and for males. Workers employed in mining had the highest rate in workplace settings while transport, postal and warehousing employees had the highest rate in work-traffic settings. Vehicle-related mechanisms dominated the mechanism and vehicles and environmental agents dominated the breakdown agencies contributing to worker fatalities.

Discussion

This study shows the rates of worker fatalities vary widely by age, sex, ethnicity, occupation and industry and are a very serious problem for particular groups. Future efforts to address NZ’s high rates of WRFI should use these findings to aid understanding where preventive actions should be prioritised.

Farmer Discussion Groups Create Space for Peer Learning about Safety and Health

Objectives: Occupational safety and health (OSH) interventions emphasizing regulation or education have had limited success in reducing agricultural accidents and fatalities. There is a growing interest in sociocultural approaches to OSH promotion amongst farmers, such as peer learning groups (PLGs). The level of OSH engagement within farmer PLGs (e.g. dairy discussion groups (DDGs)) is unknown. This study evaluates Irish DDG engagement with OSH in 2016 to better understand how DDGs contribute to OSH promotion.Methods: A mixed-mode (online, postal, and telephone) retrospective survey of 121 DDG representatives (i.e. chairperson or long-term member) assessed voluntary OSH engagement in 2016, including the location, frequency, duration, and content of OSH discussions.Results: Representatives of 96 DDGs participated in the survey and met the survey criteria. Most DDGs discussed OSH to some extent in 2016 (96%), including sharing personal experiences of accidents and illnesses (89%) and close calls (82%). For 76 DDGs, at least one meeting in 2016 addressed specific hazard and risk management topics. Groups were diverse with respect to discussion frequency, duration, and topics discussed.Conclusion: Farmers actively engaged with OSH in most DDGs surveyed, suggesting dairy farmers value OSH discussions. The findings illustrate the role of DDGs in OSH promotion, as a space for farmer-led, peer-to-peer knowledge-sharing. Farm advisory (extension) services and OSH professionals can strengthen OSH engagement through tailored resources that reflect contemporary OSH knowledge and popular discussion approaches (e.g. experience-sharing).