Agricultural injuries among a population-based sample of farm operators in Alabama

A population-based study of the occurrence of agricultural injuries during the previous year was conducted in a simple random sample of 1,000 farm operators in Alabama in 1991. The participation rate was 86.2%. The cumulative 1-year incidence was 9.9% (95% CI = 7.7-12.1), based on the number of injuries, and 7.8% (95% CI = 5.8-9.8), based on the number of farmers injured. Limbs were the body parts most frequently injured: fingers (10.7%), hands or wrists (10.7%), and legs (8.9%). The leading external causes were machinery (28.6%), falls (23.2%), and animals (12.5%). There was a higher injury frequency at the end of the week, with a Saturday peak. Seasonal pattern of injury displayed a bimodal curve, one peak in spring, and a higher peak in early fall in September. The most risky farm types were forestry and dairy. The factors predictive of increased injury risk in multiple logistic regression included younger age, farm ownership, greater percent of working time spent on farming, more alcohol consumed, and prior residual injury. The results provide some indications for formulating agricultural injury control programs and for future research.