Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health最新文献

Highlights: Sheepherders express pride in their resilience, skill, and responsibility for their flock's livelihood. Sheepherders face challenges meeting basic needs like food, clothing, and medical care. Isolation and environmental hardships take a toll on sheepherders' mental health. Challenging environmental conditions affect the working and living conditions of sheepherders working on the open range.

Abstract: Sheepherders in the western United States often work in remote areas in small campers, have long periods of isolation, and face challenging environmental conditions, including extreme weather and predator threats. There is limited research on the work and priorities of sheepherders in the United States. This qualitative study aimed to learn Spanish-speaking sheepherders' experiences at work as well as their greatest concerns and points of pride in their work. An oral survey was conducted with sheepherders in Colorado during April and May 2024. Responses were thematically analyzed. Twenty-four Spanish-speaking sheepherders participated. Survey respondents' greatest concerns were for meeting their basic needs, environmental conditions, economic pressures, and mental health effects of being isolated and distant from family. Findings show that sheepherders are resilient and adapt to a demanding work environment. Coordinated efforts are needed to address their concerns and meet their basic needs.

Highlights: Higher skeletal muscle improves farm workers' work ability. Increased body fat percentage negatively impacts work capacity. Reducing subcutaneous fat enhances physical performance in farm workers. Promoting healthy body composition is essential for improving work ability.

Abstract: Farm work is highly physical, often involving repetitive tasks, awkward postures, and heavy lifting, which can contribute to musculoskeletal disorders. Body composition, including skeletal muscle and fat percentages, is critical for work ability (WA), influencing strength and endurance. The current study investigated the association between WA and body composition among Thai farm workers. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 126 corn farm workers in Nan Province, Thailand. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire covering demographic characteristics, health behaviors, and WA (assessed using the Work Ability Index, WAI). Body composition variables, including body mass index, body fat percentage (BFP), subcutaneous fat percentage (SFP), and skeletal muscle percentage (SMP), were measured using a body composition analyzer. The association between body composition and WA was analyzed using multiple regression analysis to control the effects of confounding factors. The average WAI score was 37.3 (standard deviation = 5.6), with 42.9% of participants classified as having good WA. A significant positive association was found between WA and SMP (whole body, trunk, arms, and legs) (p < 0.001). Conversely, WA was negatively associated with SFP (trunk and legs) (p < 0.01), as well as SFP (whole body) and BFP (p < 0.001). The findings suggest that maintaining a higher SMP and reducing excess fat, particularly subcutaneous fat, can enhance WA in farm workers. These results highlight the importance of promoting healthy body composition to improve physical performance and work capacity in this workforce.

Highlights: U.S. safety regulations pertaining to lone workers have had generally little impact on agricultural workers. Enhanced agricultural mechanization has led to an increased role of lone workers and potential risks of lone worker incidents. Practices and technologies used in other industries have potential application to agricultural workplaces to enhance lone worker safety. There is a need to incorporate evidence-based content on lone-worker safety and health in current education programs targeting agricultural workers.

Abstract: A relatively unique aspect of agricultural work, as compared to most other industries, is the frequency that workers are involved in performing hazardous tasks while working alone. A review of current U.S. regulatory requirements related to lone workers found that most current regulations do not apply nor are they enforced in agricultural workplaces. Requirements such as having multiple workers and/or supervisors present when entering confined spaces, maintaining supervision over young and beginning workers, providing communication aids for lone workers, and utilizing wearable sensing technology have had little impact on general agricultural production practices. It was concluded that modern communication technologies have improved the ability to contact and track those who are working alone. However, utilization of these technologies to lone workers in agriculture was found to be generally lacking. More needs to be done to make agricultural workers aware of the best practices that could reduce the frequency and severity of the incidents most likely to result in an injury or death.

Highlights: This intervention utilized the Health Belief Model and Theory of Planned Behavior to address the knowledge and social barriers that increase dairy farm workers' risk to antimicrobial-resistant infections. Dairy farm workers gained a significant increase in knowledge of the 8 desired outcomes, related to occupational health skills that reduce risks, from our intervention. Limited time was a major barrier as to why dairy farm workers felt like they could not make behavioral changes that would reduce their occupational health risk. Dairy farmworkers showed a strong likelihood of making workplace health-related behavioral changes, but their intention to change was weaker in areas of personal antibiotic stewardship.

Abstract: This study focused on developing and evaluating an educational intervention designed to mitigate occupational health risks associated with pathogens and antibiotic-resistant bacteria among dairy farm workers. Data collected from farms and workers as part of a larger umbrella project that focused on dairy farm antibiotic use for cows and calves were used to inform elements of the Health Belief Model and the Theory of Planned Behavior, leading to eight intervention outcomes. The intervention targeted increased knowledge and promoted behavioral changes related to worker and workplace hygiene best practices, PPE use, biosecurity, and personal antibiotic stewardship. Educational materials included instructional videos, fact sheets in English and Spanish, and supplementary printed material, including illustrated take-home points, content summaries, and posters. The intervention was conducted with 32 workers from five dairy farms, using pre- and post-intervention assessments to measure knowledge gains and behavioral intentions. Results demonstrated statistically significant increases in knowledge across all targeted outcomes (p-value ≤ .001), with most participants showing a high willingness and likelihood to implement recommended behaviors related to their workplace exposures and best practices. However, participants indicated a greater reluctance to change around issues of personal antibiotic stewardship. Time constraints were the most significant and most consistent barrier to behavior change. The study highlights the importance of ongoing research and refinement of intervention strategies to address barriers and enhance protective practices among often underserved farmworkers in agriculture. These intervention strategies contribute to improved occupational health outcomes with benefits to public health by reducing the spread of antibiotic-resistant infections to the broader population.

Highlights: Risk assessment is required for new machine designs, including autonomous, robotic, and other highly automated agricultural equipment. Meaningful data is needed to inform many risk assessment processes, yet there is no historical incident data on novel machine forms that have never been widely deployed. The establishment of an exposure database could supply needed data for machine risk assessment with new machine forms. Engineering standards are a bedrock for safe design, including newly developed standards for highly automated and autonomous machines. Outreach and awareness of engineering design standards are needed for engineers, non-engineers, regulators, and students.

Abstract: The 2022 SAFER AG workshop convened stakeholder groups that addressed emerging challenges related to safety, research needs, workforce implications, community-level impacts, and other issues connected to the development and eventual widespread deployment of autonomous and highly automated agricultural machines. This article summarizes the key findings, discussions, and recommendations of one of the workshop's working groups that focused their efforts on risk assessment and the data needed to inform risk assessment processes during machine design, engineering design, safety standards, and regulatory efforts. Participants engaged in a consensus-building process to identify gaps in current knowledge and practice, particularly concerning new machine forms for which historical safety data is limited or nonexistent. The group recommended innovative solutions, including creating an exposure-based database and exposure definitions that could serve as a foundation for future risk assessment processes. Workshop participants emphasized the critical role of consensus engineering standards in ensuring the safe design of autonomous, robotic, and other highly automated equipment, with a clear sense that engineering standards must be considered early in the design phases. The group also recommended that any desired regulatory activity at various levels (local, state, national, and international) must consider the knowledge that is already embedded in pre-existing engineering standards with the hope that future regulation aligns with these standards and leverages the expertise and care that goes into the consensus standards development process. Recommendations for outreach and education efforts targeting small manufacturers, regulators, students in ABET-accredited engineering programs, and academia are also outlined.

Highlights: Over 50% of the young adult agricultural workers surveyed reported never wearing a helmet, seatbelt, or hearing protection when operating an ATV or UTV. Young adult agricultural workers' mean ATV and UTV safety scores ranged from 1 to 4.44 on a scale of 1 to 5. Gender, supervisor influence, and risk-taking behaviors significantly influenced young agricultural workers ATV and UTV safety scores.

Abstract: ATV and UTV crashes are a leading cause of agricultural-related injury and death in the United States. Young adult agricultural workers (under the age of 25) contribute substantially to the agricultural workforce and often utilize ATVs and UTVs in their work. However, it is unknown if they have adopted recommended safe operating behaviors that could reduce the potential for injury or death. As such, we evaluated young adult agricultural workers' reported ATV and UTV operating practices and safety influences. Agricultural students from four Midwestern colleges and universities responded to an online survey about ATV and UTV operating behaviors, social influences (supervisor, peer, and parental risk-taking behaviors), and individual risk-taking orientation and tendencies. An ATV/UTV safety score was calculated from participants' responses, and linear regression methods were used to examine associations between scores and other aspects of risk-taking. Out of 193 respondents, a large proportion of participants reported never wearing hearing protection (68.6%), a seatbelt (59.2%), or a helmet (58.1%) while operating an ATV or UTV. The analysis identified gender (p < 0.001), global risk-taking (p = 0.001), risk-taking orientation at work (p = 0.012), and supervisor influence (p = 0.015) as significant factors influencing young adult agricultural workers' safety scores. The findings suggest that gender, individual risk-taking tendencies, and supervisor influence play crucial roles in safety behavior, indicating that risk management initiatives for young adult agricultural workers should not only focus on individual behavior change but also consider the broader social and workplace influences on safety.

Highlights: Percent agreement score showed moderate acceptability in preparing participants to complete the SFS application. Using self-directed learning to guide the training provided evidence for successful SFS application completion. Researchers plan to modify the self-directed learning approach to increase future SFS training success rates.

Abstract: This study evaluates the use of Self-Directed Learning (SDL) and Performance-Based Assessment (PBA) to improve the accuracy of adult educators' completion of the Safe Farm Steward (SFS) application. PBA is a form of assessment commonly utilized in youth education, but there is limited evidence of its implementation among adults. Through implementing SDL, the researchers introduced a farm safety model to extension agents, agriculture teachers, and college professors to improve their performance assessment. The cohort attended a three-day professional development training followed by farm visitations; the training and visitations employed materials that incorporated SDL techniques. This study's findings indicate that the professional development training was moderately acceptable in preparing the cohort to accurately complete the SFS application. Though the cohort did not meet the expected score on each individual construct, the overall PBA demonstrated moderate acceptability compared to the expected score. The researchers highlight gaps in professional development where recommendations for improvement could be made.

Highlights: Farmworkers are at high risk of heat-related illness, especially those working in polytunnels. There is a gap in knowledge regarding working conditions inside polytunnels. Polytunnels are prevalent in California's Central Coast region. Recommendations to reduce the risk of heat-related illness among workers in polytunnels were formulated.

Abstract: Polytunnels-also known as hoop houses-are used worldwide to grow certain crops year-round, primarily to protect plants from precipitation and cool temperatures. Farmworkers may be at increased risk in polytunnels due to higher temperatures and relative humidity. In the Central Coast region of California, polytunnels are commonly used to grow berries and other crops, but information on measures used to reduce heat stress in farmworkers working in polytunnels or how many workers are potentially exposed to these conditions is scarce. The purpose of this study was to: (1) estimate the area under polytunnels and the number of workers in them in California's Central Coast region; (2) assess current practices to manage heat and protect workers in polytunnels; and (3) use this information to develop proposed best practices for protecting farmworkers in polytunnels. Using satellite imagery and crop production records, the area under polytunnels in the region was estimated at 5,162 ha with a conservatively estimated 46,000 farmworkers. Through key informant interviews, we found that farms are generally following OSHA worker safety regulations. However, additional measures may be needed to protect workers because environmental conditions inside polytunnels are variable and difficult to predict. For instance, wet bulb globe temperature would be a more accurate measure of heat stress risk than temperature alone. We propose recommendations that follow the hierarchy of controls to reduce the risk of heat-related illness among workers inside these structures.

Highlights: Over half of agricultural youth directors rarely discuss mental health issues such as depression and suicidal thoughts. There is a significant correlation between the frequency of mental health discussions and agricultural youth directors' self-reported knowledge and confidence levels. Integrating tailored mental health training into professional development programs could enhance the effectiveness of youth mentoring in agricultural settings.

Abstract: This study evaluates how frequently agricultural youth directors discuss mental health topics with youth and explores the influence of directors' knowledge and confidence on these discussions. We conducted a cross-sectional online survey assessing mental health knowledge and confidence among 242 directors from 4-H, Extension, and FFA in Illinois. The results indicate that discussions on sensitive mental health issues such as depression, suicide, traumatic experiences, isolation, eating disorders, self-harm, and substance use are infrequent and correlate with agricultural youth directors' limited knowledge and confidence in addressing these issues. The findings underscore the importance of mental health literacy as an essential part of professional development for agricultural youth directors and advocate for integrating mental health considerations into youth development models in agriculture. This research fills a gap in the existing literature on mental health in agricultural settings by pinpointing key areas for improving agricultural youth directors' ability to support youth mental health effectively.

Highlights: Outdated safety regulations pose challenges for autonomous agricultural tractors. Cal/OSHA denied the petition to update regulations for autonomous tractors. The industry's experimental variance shows potential but lacks sufficient data. Recommendations include third-party safety testing and creating an advisory group.

Abstract: As of August 2024, California's agricultural tractor safety regulations, developed over half a century ago, are still focused on classic tractors with human operators. These regulations are problematic when applied to autonomous equipment. Since agricultural equipment has advanced, producers have faced challenges in complying with existing regulations for autonomous machinery in California. A petition (No. 596) was submitted in December 2021 to the State of California Department of Industrial Relations and reviewed in March 2023. The petition requesting modification of the agricultural tractor's traditional regulation was recently submitted to the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (OSHSB). The OSHSB denied both petitions. This article discusses more details related to California agricultural tractor safety regulations, the petition to modify the traditional regulations, discussions on OSHSB meetings regarding the petition, and several suggestions to resolve the current issue.