Journal of Agromedicine最新文献

Objectives: H-2A workers are a rapidly growing segment of the U.S. farm labor force. They may face unique challenges in emergency preparedness. The primary objectives of this rapid community assessment (RCA) were to assess 1) the prevalence of emergency preparedness training, 2) the prevalence of general emergency preparedness behaviors, and 3) emerging infectious disease vaccination uptake and access to local health care resources among H-2A workers.

Methods: Surveys were conducted in Monterey County, California, and Yakima County, Washington, due to the high number of H-2A workers who arrive on a seasonal basis. Participants were recruited at randomly selected housing sites and non-randomly selected community sites. A descriptive analysis of participants' responses and a comparative analysis of Indigenous and non-Indigenous participants were conducted.

Results: A total of 307 surveys were completed in-person in Monterey County (n = 144) and Yakima County (n = 163). Data collection took place in August for both counties. The majority of participants had received training on emergency preparedness topics and had access to recommended emergency preparedness items, but this was less common among Indigenous participants. Vaccine uptake was similar among Indigenous and non-Indigenous participants, but uptake of the Tdap/TD vaccine was lower among Indigenous participants.

Conclusion: This RCA provides actionable insight into emergency preparedness, healthcare access, and vaccine uptake among H-2A workers. While most participants indicated receiving training on critical aspects of emergency preparedness, a substantial minority had not. Critical gaps remain in emergency preparedness, such as education and overall emergency readiness, that need enhancement in these communities.

Objective: Supporting farmers to maintain good wellbeing and access to mental health supports is crucial to reducing the number of lives lost by suicide. Little is known about the mental health needs of young farmers, how best to support them and how to build resilience. This systematic scoping review was conducted to identify what literature is currently available on the mental health of young farmers, the knowledge gaps, and the needs of this population.

Methods: This systematic scoping review was guided by the Prisma 2020 methodological framework. There were 23 articles included in the review focusing on the mental health of young farmers.

Results: Results were grouped into three categories or main themes which emerged from the included studies. These were: i) contested understandings of the "young farmer"; ii) concerns and issues young farmers may encounter; and iii) and protective factors for young farmers' mental health and wellbeing in rural communities. Results identified several concerns for young farmers, and protective factors that mitigate these concerns. The review identifies that there is a limited focus within the literature on this specific population's needs to provide relevant support for their unique agricultural environment.

Conclusion: This scoping review demonstrates the lack of literature to specifically map the mental health of young farmers. Young people are particularly vulnerable to mental health and wellbeing issues due to the isolated and demanding nature of agricultural environments. The results of this scoping review can be used to inform knowledge and the development of further research that specifically targets this population.

Introduction: Agricultural youth may be at greater risk for poor mental health than their non-farm counterparts. While mental health resources exist for agricultural populations, they are typically adult-focused and not tailored to the needs of youth. Additionally, the preferred sources and modes for mental health information among agricultural youth are not well known. The objective of this pilot study is to identify the sources of mental health information of most interest among agricultural youth and the methods of which they prefer mental health information.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey using a short questionnaire was administered to youth (ages 14-18) attending the National FFA Convention. A convenience sample of convention attendees completed a paper-based or online survey measuring demographics, preferred mental health information sources, and mental health information delivery modes. Descriptive statistics and independent samples t-tests were used to examine the research question.

Results: Of 386 youth surveyed (mean age = 16.13, SD = 1.15), nearly half (46.89%) reported living on a farm or ranch at least 50% of the time. Compared to their non-farm-residing peers, farm-residing youth were significantly less interested in receiving mental health information from medical doctors (p = .019) and mental health specialists (p < .001). Among farm-residing youth, females showed significantly greater interest than males in receiving information from teachers (p = .040), sport coaches (p = .034), spiritual leaders (p = .039), medical doctors (p = .009), and mental health specialists (p = .005).

Discussion: Results from this study suggest youth who live on farms might be more interested in receiving mental health information from youth leaders and spiritual coaches than individuals in more traditional medical roles. Additional research should examine whether this is due to preferences or barriers to accessing more traditional mental health services in agricultural communities. These findings can inform the development of mental health programming for agricultural youth.

Objectives: Roughly 70% agricultural nursery workers report musculoskeletal dysfunction and fall-related injuries. Exercise has been shown to improve musculoskeletal health and fall risk, but the literature on the benefits of exercise in nursery workers is rare. This mixed-methods feasibility study aimed to elucidate the benefits of an employee-sponsored exercise class for nursery workers.

Methods: Twenty-five workers were randomized into either the Stay Strong, Stay Healthy (SSSH) resistance training program (n = 14) or control group (n = 11) for 8 weeks. Those assigned to SSSH performed eight exercises twice weekly at their workplace during business hours, while controls were asked to maintain their habits. Pre/post eight-week measures included health, pain, and sleep surveys and functional performance tests of static and dynamic balance, strength, and flexibility. Finally, interviews were conducted pre/post to gauge participants' perceptions of barriers and facilitators for health behaviors such as exercise. Statistical analyses included independent t-tests to assess baseline differences and two-way, mixed repeated measures analyses of variance models to observe interactions and main effects of time and group for all measures, α ≤ 0.05. Inductive thematic analysis was conducted on interview data.

Results: There were no baseline differences between SSSH and controls (all p ≥ .061). Participants were on average 39 years old, had a BMI of 25.5 kg/m², reported poor sleep quality (PSQI 6.2), and 220 min/wk of physical activity. Over time, timed-up-and-go, 5 sit-to-stand, hand grip strength, and lower-body flexibility improved (all p ≤ .019). Post-hoc analyses revealed pre/post-performance changes only in the SSSH group (all p ≤ .035). Further, qualitative interviews suggest that employee-sponsored SSSH programming improved many areas of nursery workers' physical, interpersonal, and psychological health. Specifically, four themes emerged, which included labor-intensive job demands as a barrier to exercise engagement, multidimensional health benefits of SSSH, improved job performance after SSSH, and inspiration and insufficiency of SSSH. For example, those in the SSSH group noted improved personal confidence to complete work-related tasks. Conclusion: Employee-sponsored SSSH improved physical performance associated with falls and injury risk and most participants noted a general enjoyment of and benefits from SSSH pointing to the potential value of it to improve nursery workers' injury risk and health.

Objectives: Outdoor workers, particularly farmers and farmworkers, are at increased risk for tick encounters and subsequent tick-borne disease exposure due to daily work in tick habitats. Though well studied in Europe, farmer/worker risk is not well studied in the Northeastern United States. Given the increasing incidence of tick-borne diseases throughout the Northeast population, this study sought to identify risk factors and determine perceptions of risk for tick encounters and tick-borne disease diagnoses within agricultural communities.

Methods: Snowball sampling was utilized to recruit farmers and farmworkers for the study. Participants were surveyed about risk perceptions, farm practices, tick encounters, and tick-borne disease exposure. Tick-borne disease diagnosis was tested for association with farm characteristics and individual prevention practices. Associations with tick exposure, including tick encounters and tick bites, were also tested.

Results: A total of 53 individuals (representing 46 farms) from dairy and livestock operations in Southern Vermont were recruited for the study. Of participants, 12% reported ever being diagnosed with a tick-borne disease, and reported an average of three tick encounters over the prior 6 months (ranging from 0 to 70). There was a marginal association between grazing livestock and increased tick sightings on the farm, and participants believed their risk for tick-borne disease was higher than other occupations.

Conclusions: Farmers are a high-risk population, given their increased risk of exposures at worksites that are prime tick habitats. High numbers of tick encounters and perception of risk highlight the need for tick-borne disease prevention strategies to be tailored to farmers and farmworkers.

Objective: In 2022, the USDA Agricultural Census recognized that over one-third of agricultural producers in the United States were female. However, information on the health and safety needs of women working in agriculture is lacking. To help guide the direction of further research to understand the needs of women in agriculture, a brief survey was administered at a conference for agricultural women in the Midwest US. The goal was to understand the priority concerns and whether the concerns differed by age group or by occupational role.

Methods: The survey was conducted in person with women attending a Women in Ag Conference in 2024. Participants were asked their age in six categories, whether they were directly involved in agriculture, and how concerned they were about nine health and safety topics using a 5-point Likert scale. Occupational role was determined by classifying the self-reported job description into five categories, academic/professional, academic/professional and agricultural operator, crop producer, livestock producer, and crop and livestock producer (n = 111). Descriptive statistics were calculated to describe the age distribution, occupational roles, and differences in concerns. Correspondence analysis was used to analyze and visualize frequency tables. Chi-square and Fisher's Exact tests, and logistic regression were used to explore differences.

Results: Injuries and respiratory exposures significantly differed between women who were both academic/professionals and agricultural operators and those who were only academic/professional. Academics were similar to crop producers, livestock producers were different from all others, and those who were both crop and livestock producers fell between the two. Fewer differences were seen among the age groups. Younger women were most concerned about reproductive health and older women more concerned about mental health and musculoskeletal disorders.

Conclusion: Concerns differed by occupational role and less by age group. Although injuries were of concern for women working in an academic/professional role, they were not a major concern when women also worked a farm or ranch. It is unclear why this might be and further studies need to be conducted to ascertain if these differences can be replicated.

Objectives: Agriculture provides livelihoods and generates millions of jobs for farmers in tropical sub-Saharan settings. Outdoor farmers, however, are vulnerable to health risks from excess exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation. This study assessed the knowledge, practices, and associated factors of sun safety among farmers of the Amaegbu community in Ede-Oballa, Nsukka local government of Enugu State, Southeastern Nigeria.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study design and a purposive sampling technique were employed to select 155 crop farmers living in the study setting. The sample comprised commercial and subsistence (part-time) farmers who cultivate crops either as a primary or supplementary occupation. Data were collected using structured researcher's questionnaire, with a reliability coefficient of 0.926 Croncbach's alpha analysis of data was achieved using descriptive and inferential statistics aided by SPSS version 25 and Microsoft Excel.

Results: Majority (89.7%) of the respondents had good knowledge of sun safety. More than half (52.3%, n = 81) had poor practice of sun safety. The overall practice mean score was 2.32 ± 0.75 There was no significant association between the sociodemographic factors of age and gender of farmers and the practice of sun safety (p = .368; p = 086). Sun safety knowledge was also not significantly associated with practice (p = .472). Only educational level was significantly associated with farmers' practice of sun safety (p = .004).

Conclusion: Despite having good knowledge of sun safety, farmers followed poor sun safety practices. It is recommended that farmers should be encouraged to protect themselves from sun radiation to prevent health hazards. Factors responsible for the poor practice revealed in this study despite a good knowledge should be further evaluated.

Objectives: Farmworkers are disproportionately exposed to and impacted by wildfire smoke, which will continue to worsen with climate change. Sonoma County is a winegrowing region in northern California that experienced record-breaking wildfires from 2017 to 2020; in 2022 the County passed an "Ag Pass" program that allows farm owners and full-time agricultural employees potential access to evacuated areas during disasters such as a wildfire. The goals of this study were to: 1) evaluate farmworkers' experiences working during wildfires, 2) examine implications of the Ag Pass program for farmworker health and safety, and 3) develop policy recommendations to safeguard farmworkers' health during wildfires.

Methods: We worked with a local community engagement team to administer surveys and conduct open-ended interviews with farmworkers in Sonoma County to examine their: 1) understanding of the Ag Pass program; 2) previous experiences working in agriculture during wildfires; 3) desired resources and training about wildfire health and safety; 4) organizations they would feel most comfortable interacting to receive this training; and 5) other concerns related to working during wildfires.

Results: Of the 1,011 survey participants, 763 (75.5%) had worked in agriculture during a wildfire in Sonoma County since 2017; of these, 507 (66.5%) reported experiencing health impacts such as a headache (74.9%), sore throat (76.0%), and eye irritation (83.1%). Over 50% of participants who reported adverse health did not have health insurance, and many reported continuing to work while feeling ill to avoid losing income or their jobs. The most consistent theme throughout the surveys and interviews was that farmworkers believed it necessary to work in hazardous conditions (e.g. during active wildfires and poor air quality) to be able to pay for basic needs such as housing and groceries.

Conclusion: Our analysis identified gaps in the protection of farmworkers during wildfires in Sonoma County and areas for improvement in the Ag Pass program, including consideration of air quality and heat levels when the Ag Pass may be activated; health training requirements for program applicants; increased collaborations with trusted organizations to deliver health and safety information; and improved communication with workers about evacuation routes and wildfire notifications at the workplace.

Background: Brucellosis is a significant zoonotic disease that may act as a potential occupational health hazard for animal handlers, including animal healthcare professionals. Accordingly, this study aimed to determine the seroprevalence and associated risk factors of brucellosis in animal handlers of district Khanewal, Pakistan.

Methods: A total of 241 animal handlers (including butchers, animal-attendants/farmers, and veterinary assistants) were approached for inclusion in this study. However, 184 sera samples of animal handlers who gave consents to participate in this study were collected and screened for brucellosis by slide agglutination test (SAT) and commercially available iELISA kit (sensitivity = 96%, specificity = 99%). A total of 11 variables were statistically analyzed by bivariate and multivariate analyses to determine their association with brucellosis, and differences were considered significant at p-value < .05.

Results: Results of SAT showed a seropositivity rate of 4.89% for anti-Brucella (B.) abortus antibodies and 6.52% for anti-B. melitensis antibodies. The co-existence of antibodies to both Brucella species in analyzed sera samples was 1.09%. All the sera-samples were also analyzed by iELISA, and results revealed an overall seroprevalence rate of 9.78% for anti-Brucella IgM antibodies. Statistical analysis revealed that gender (OR = 1.5; 95%OR = 0.135-18.54), occupation (OR = 0.163; 95%OR = 0.215-0.791), body mass index (OR = 9.3; 95%OR = 2.11-45.01), and consumption of unpasteurized milk (OR = 7.48; 95%OR = 2.23-28.94) were significantly associated (p-value < .05) with seroprevalence of brucellosis among animal handlers. Whereas some risk factors such as age, marital-status, consumption of semi/undercooked meat, educational status, and lack of awareness regarding brucellosis did not show any significant association (p-value > .05).

Conclusion: The study concluded that brucellosis is prevalent in animal handlers of the study area. Findings of this study underscore the urgent need for targeted interventions, such as regular health screenings, improved occupational health policies, and better hygiene practices while dealing with animals. These findings also demand stronger public health policies, particularly in developing regions, to avoid brucellosis and improve overall occupational health standards.

Objectives: This study was conducted to determine the knowledge, preventive practices, and perceived difficulties of adolescent children of seasonal agricultural worker families during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: The cross-sectional study was carried out with 366 adolescents. After obtaining the necessary permissions, the data were collected with questionnaires prepared by the researchers and a perceived healthy lifestyle difficulty scale (score range 10-and-50). Descriptive statistical analyses and regression analysis were used to evaluate the data.

Results: The majority of the participants knew the transmission route and symptoms of the COVID-19 disease. Only 17.8% of adolescents were paying attention to the social distancing rule, and the majority of adolescents didn't wear masks in the settlements. In this sample, 41.3% of adolescents were washing their hands on average twice a day. Adolescents perceived difficulties regarding personal hygiene, accessing protective equipment, information sources, and health services. The adolescents scored low (20.45 ± 2.62) on perceived healthy lifestyle difficulty scale which is associated with to the increased perceived difficulty in a healthy lifestyle.

Conclusion: Although adolescents had knowledge regarding COVID-19 disease, their rate of performing the preventive measures was low. Specific action plans, guidelines, and policies should be developed and implemented to enhance reported health-related behaviors and mitigate the spread of infection, particularly among disadvantaged adolescents.