Household youth on minority operated farms in the United States, 2000: Exposures to and injuries from work, horses, ATVs and tractors

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Abstract

Introduction: It is likely that youth living on minority operated farms (< 3% of U.S. farms) face hazards similar to the general farm population; however, since minority youth are not well represented by general farm surveys, this information hasn't been confirmed. Method: Nonfatal injury and exposure data were obtained from the 2000 Minority Farm Operator Childhood Agricultural Injury Survey (M-CAIS). Results: On racial minority farms, there were an estimated 28,600 household youth. Of these, about 41% worked, 26% rode a horse, 23% drove an ATV, and 23% operated a tractor. On Hispanic farms, there were an estimated 17,998 household youth. Of these, 44% worked, 30% rode a horse, 27% drove an ATV, and 25% operated a tractor. Conclusions: These results show the value of conducting a survey of minorities to identify high risk groups and target issues that may be unique to the minority farm population.

Introduction

The farm can be a wonderful environment for children to grow and learn. It is also an environment where children are exposed to a wide variety of hazards. Approximately 1.26 million youth less than 20 years of age live on U.S. farms and over half of these youth perform work on the farm (Myers & Hendricks, 2001). These youth are often exposed to safety hazards associated with the farm.

Work has been well documented as a contributor to youth injuries on farms (Purschwitz & Field, 1990, Schulman et al., 1997, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 1998, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 1999a). In addition to work, three common hazards associated with farm injuries are horses, all terrain vehicles (ATVs), and tractors. Although there has been a great deal of research on the injuries associated with these hazards (Etherton et al., 1991, Chapman & Spinks, 1994, Chitnavis et al., 1996, Hendricks & Adekoya, 2001, Consumer Product Safety Commission [CPSC], 2003), data on the number of youth exposed to these hazards are limited.

Minority farm operations make up less than 3% of all U.S. farms. Preliminary results from the 1997 Census of Agriculture reported that there were 47,658 farms with a racial minority operator (U.S. Department of Agriculture [USDA], 1999). Hispanics, which are the fastest growing minority group in the United States (Nawrot & Wright, 1998), account for less than 1.5% (27,717) of all farm operations in the United States. However, since 1978 farms with a Hispanic operator have increased by 58% compared to a decrease of 15% for the total number of farms in operation in the United States (USDA, 2001).

Youth living on minority-operated farms are a population not frequently studied by the agricultural research community. It is likely that they face hazards similar to those faced by other farm youth. To date, research on Hispanics in agriculture has generally been limited to migrant and seasonal farm workers or limited to a specific geographical region (Ciesielski et al., 1991, Villarejo & Baron, 1999, McCurdy et al., 2003). Although previous research has shown that some variation exists in the number and type of injuries based on race (Lyman et al., 1997, Crandall et al., 1997, Richardson et al., 1997), these studies often addressed specific geographic regions or a specific race.

Further, there has been no research that has examined the exposure and injury experiences of youth living on minority farm operations. Thus, in an effort to gain a better understanding of household youth on racial minority and Hispanic farms, the objective of this paper sought to fill gaps in the literature by examining this population's exposures to and injuries associated with: work, horses, ATVs, and tractors.

Section snippets

Methods

Data for this study were obtained from the Minority Farm Operator Childhood Agricultural Injury Survey (M-CAIS), which was conducted for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). The M-CAIS was a telephone survey of minority operated (i.e., racial minority and Hispanic) U.S. farm households. Data were collected for all nonfatal, on-farm injuries occurring to youth less than 20 years

Exposures

In 2000, there were an estimated 28,577 (CI95% 28,080 to 29,074) youth less than 20 years of age living on farms operated by a racial minority. An estimated 14,643 (51%) of these youth were males. Approximately 9,339 (33%) youth were under the age of 10 years, with 10,577 (37%) between the ages of 10–15 years and 7,648 (27%) between the ages of 16 and 19 years. For an estimated 1,013 (3%) youth, age was not reported. Of the 28,577 youth living on racial minority farms, 28% were on Black farm

Discussion

This study provides much needed data on the understudied population of youth living on minority operated farms. Injury surveillance data provide a valuable tool to understanding the causes of injury to youth on farms. Equally important is having some measure of how many youth are exposed to known hazards. Knowing both the exposure and injury experience of youth living on minority operated farms is needed to develop and target effective injury prevention strategies.

This study estimates that for

Conclusions

The study of household youth exposure to specific hazards and associated injuries on minority-operated farms provides important information for researchers and practitioners. In addition to providing unique data on an understudied population of farm youth, these data will assist researchers and practitioners in the area of childhood agricultural injury prevention. The identification of specific populations, such as youth less than 10 years of age on Hispanic farms as having a high rate of

Kitty Hendricks joined the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health as a research epidemiologist in 1997. Ms. Henricks received her M.A. from West Virginia University in 1995. Her past research includes work on child labor and agricultural injuries to youth.

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    Kitty Hendricks joined the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health as a research epidemiologist in 1997. Ms. Henricks received her M.A. from West Virginia University in 1995. Her past research includes work on child labor and agricultural injuries to youth.

    John Myers has over 15 years experience as s statistician with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. His work has primarily focused upon surveillance of agriculture related injuries. Mr. Myers holds a M.S. from West Virginia University and has completed all but the dissertation requirements for his doctorate.

    Larry Layne is an epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Mr. Layne received his M.A. from West Virginia University. His past research includes work on injury surveillance and youth agricultural injuries.

    Dr. Michael Goldcamp is an epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. He joined the staff in 2001 after previous work in cancer control and immunizations. Dr. Goldcamp is a graduate of West Virginia University (Ph.D., 2000) and the University of Cincinnati (B.A., 1991). He is currently working in the area of agricultural injury surveillance.

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