Safety practices and depression among farm residents

To examine the association between workload, health status, social support, depression, and safety practices among farm residents. Depression may lead to inattention when performing farm tasks and may reduce the likelihood of engaging in safe practices. There is a paucity of studies examining factors that influence engaging in safety practices among farmers.

Personal interviews were conducted with farm operators and spouses in an eight-county area in Colorado. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression (CES-D) scale was used to assess depression. Ten safety practices were assessed for those involved in farm work. Proportional odds and logistic regression were used to model the relationship between safety practices and modifiers of safety behavior.

A total of 761 individuals were enrolled, of these 710 were actively involved in farm work. In logistic regression analysis, adjusting for age and gender, CES-D scale depression was significantly associated with being in a high-risk category for: being calm around animals (OR, 3.13; 95% CI, 1.23, 7.99); reading instruction manuals for farm machinery (OR, 2.73; CI, 1.14, 6.59); and keeping moving equipment parts shielded (OR, 5.38; CI, 1.96, 14.8).

Depression increased the probability of not exercising specific safety behaviors.