Julie A. Sorensen

Tractors and rollover protection in the United States.

ABSTRACT There are approximately 4.2 million tractors on farms and ranches across the United States. The average age of tractors is over 25 years and some of the oldest models are the most popular. Older tractors are less safe than newer tractors, and many older tractors are operated by individuals with increased risk of being injured or killed on a tractor. A key tractor safety device, a rollover protective structure (ROPS), is missing from most tractors manufactured before 1985. Data from the US Department of Labors Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) suggest that the production agriculture sector accounts for approximately 70.3% of the 3299 work deaths in the Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing industry between 2003 and 2007. Nearly 900 of these incidents involve farm tractors and of these, approximately 43% were from tractor overturns. Efforts to reduce both the number of tractor overturn fatalities and injuries have been underway for years. These efforts primarily encompass worker education/training programs and activities, ROPS design and engineering applications, and research on more effective ways of encouraging tractor owners to retrofit their older tractors with ROPS. This paper reviews various approaches available to reduce the fatalities, serious injuries, and economic burden associated with tractor overturns. Past and current efforts to promote ROPS in the United States and in other countries, current safe tractor operations education and training programs, and ROPS-related safety engineering projects are discussed. Recommendations for advancing safe tractor operation and the number of tractors protected by ROPS are given. This review was prepared for the Agricultural Safety and Health Council of America/National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health conference, “Be Safe, Be Profitable: Protecting Workers in Agriculture,” January 2010.

The Social Marketing of Safety Behaviors: A Quasi–Randomized Controlled Trial of Tractor Retrofitting Incentives

OBJECTIVES We assessed the effect of social marketing incentives on dispositions toward retrofitting and retrofitting behavior among farmers whose tractors lacked rollover protective structures. METHODS From 2006 to 2007, we conducted a quasi-randomized controlled trial with 391 farm owners in New York and Pennsylvania surveyed before and after exposure to 1 of 3 tractor retrofitting incentive combinations. These combinations were offered in 3 trial regions; region 1 received rebates; region 2 received rebates, messages, and promotion and was considered the social marketing region; and region 3 received messages and promotion. A fourth region served as a control. RESULTS The social marketing region generated the greatest increases in readiness to retrofit, intentions to retrofit, and message recall. In addition, postintervention stage of change, intentions, attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control levels were higher among farmers who had retrofitted tractors. CONCLUSIONS Our results showed that a social marketing approach (financial incentives, tailored messages, and promotion) had the greatest influence on message recall, readiness to retrofit tractors, and intentions to retrofit tractors and that behavioral measures were fairly good predictors of tractor retrofitting behaviors.

Encouraging the installation of rollover protective structures in New York State: the design of a social marketing intervention

Aims: Increasing the percentage of rollover protective structure (ROPS) equipped tractors has been the focus of many agricultural safety campaigns. Traditionally efforts have attempted to persuade farmers through education or community awareness interventions. These efforts have lead to marginal change. In response, a social marketing approach was tested as a means for increasing interest in ROPS retrofitting in New York. Methods: An initial phone survey was conducted with a random sample of New York farmers to identify a potential target population. Following target selection, in-depth interviews were conducted to isolate barriers and motivators to retrofitting. This information was used to develop message prototypes which were tested in small focus group discussions. Selected and revised messages, as well as various other incentives developed in response to feedback from interviews, were then tested in a prospective, quasi-randomized controlled trial. Results: Small crop and livestock farms were selected as the intervention target since they represent 86% of New York farms with none or only one ROPS protected tractor. Barriers to retrofitting which were identified in interviews were: 1) constant exposures normalize risk, 2) risk is modeled by significant others and 3) safety in general and retrofitting in particular requires too much time and money. The piloting of ROPS incentives led to a marked increase in ROPS sales in New York. Conclusions: Social Marketing provides a promising framework for the design of agricultural injury prevention programs. The potential implications for other health initiatives seeking to promote behaviour change are also discussed.

Cost-Effectiveness of a ROPS Social Marketing Campaign

Tractor rollovers are the most frequent cause of death in the farm community. Rollover protection structures (ROPS) can prevent the injuries and fatalities associated with these events; however, almost half of U.S. farms lack these essential devices. One promising strategy for increasing ROPS use is social marketing. The purpose of this study was to assess the costs associated with the New York ROPS Social Marketing Campaign in relation to the cost of fatalities and injuries averted as a result of the campaign to determine whether cost savings could be demonstrated in the initial years of program implementation. A total of 524 farmers who had retrofitted a tractor through the program were mailed a survey to assess the number of rollovers or close calls that occurred since ROPS installation. Responses were obtained from 382 farmers, two of whom indicated that they had a potential fatality/injury scenario since retrofitting their tractor through the program. The cost savings associated with the intervention was estimated using a decision-tree analysis adapted from Myers and Pana-Cryan with appropriate consumer price index adjustments. The data were compared to the cost of the New York ROPS Social Marketing Campaign to arrive at an associated cost-savings estimate relative to the intervention. This study indicates that a net savings will likely be demonstrated within the third year of the New York ROPS Social Marketing initiative. These data may provide evidence for researchers hoping to generate support from state and private agencies for similar initiatives.

Electromyographic assessment of apple bucket intervention designed to reduce back strain.

The authors previously developed an apple bucket that was modified by use of a hip belt to reduce muscle fatigue. The intervention of belt use was accepted by workers and shown not to interfere with productivity. However, use of this intervention did not appear to reduce muscle fatigue when measured by tests of voluntary muscle strength. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the interventions effect on muscle fatigue employing surface electromyographic (EMG) amplitude. Amplitude measurements on 15 muscles were taken from 10 laboratory volunteers who were carrying a full bucket of apples, once while wearing the intervention belt and once without the intervention. These measurements were taken for seven different postures (four angles of trunk flexion (0°, 20°, 45°, 90°) and three raised-arm positions (both up, dominant up, non-dominant up)) common to apple harvest work. Participants were measured in these conditions both with the bucket carried in front and with the bucket carried to the side. Significant reductions in amplitude favouring the intervention were seen for 11 of the 15 muscles in models considering the four body flexion angles. Ten of these were of the middle and lower back. These control/intervention differences were seen with both bucket-carrying positions (front vs. side) and tended to increase with increasing flexion angle. In contrast, no significant intervention effects were observed in models considering treatment by arm-raised position. One significant main effect (upper trapezius, side bucket) showed an amplitude reduction in the treatment condition. Another main effect showing increased amplitude in the intervention condition use was observed in the dominant levator scapulae (side bucket). Thus, the use of the intervention belt reduces EMG amplitude among a number of mid- and lower-back muscles. This is suggestive of a protective effect against back strain.

Orchard Evaluation of Ergonomically Modified Apple Bucket

Abstract Background: While preliminary laboratory tests indicate that a hip belt reduces the load on the back, neck and shoulders associated with musculoskeletal strain, an orchard trial is needed to more realistically assess both effectiveness and acceptability. Objective: to evaluate the hip belts effectiveness in three areas: worker acceptance, worker productivity, and one-day muscle fatigue of the back and shoulder. Methods: Ninety-six New York apple harvest workers were randomly assigned to use the intervention hip belt or placebo belt for one week. In a second week all workers switched conditions. Subjects were interviewed at the end of each week to ascertain intervention acceptance. Employer records were reviewed to determine bushels picked per day. Subjects also underwent muscle fatigue testing at the beginning and again at the end of one workday during each week. Results: Ninety-one percent of the subjects favored the intervention hip belt. Use of the intervention did not appreciably slow picking speed (bushels per hour) as compared to placebo (8.8 bu/ hr vs. 8.89 bu/hr). Both were significantly faster than the regular equipment condition (8.13 bu/hr). No significant differences in one-day muscle fatigue were found with intervention use. Conclusions: The belt was acceptable to the workers and did not hinder productivity. However, the anticipated ergonomic benefits were not demonstrable using one-day strength testing.

Estimating Farmworker Population Size in New York State Using a Minimum Labor Demand Method

Assessment of health needs and services for hand-harvest farmworkers requires reliable population estimates. In New York State, the only publicly available source for these is the Department of Labor (DOL). However, published production data exist that may enable estimation of minimum labor demand (MLD) for hand-harvest labor. Our objective was to develop an estimation process for minimum labor demand (MLD) for hand-harvested crops in NYS and contrast the results with DOL estimates. Four crop strata (below ground, ground, bush/vine, and orchard) were identified. MLD (measured in worker-seasons) was estimated by dividing the total annual harvest hours required for each crop stratum by the total hours worked by one worker in a season for that crop stratum. The MLD estimate of the total number of worker seasons combined for all strata (14,121) was higher than that of the DOL (8,230). Harvest acreage was unavailable for 21% of the 991 county-crop combinations studied; therefore, data were imputed from other sources. Within these strata, the greatest difference was found for ground crops, where the DOL count was 28% of the size of the MLD estimate. DOL and MLD estimates were closest in orchard crops (DOL 109% of MLD). Publicly available data provide a potentially valuable source of informationfor estimation of the MLD. Use of these methods implies that the DOL may substantially underestimate the size of this population. Differences seen between the two methods were sensitive to the crop type. County-level farm surveys to verify MLD estimation factors would enhance the methods accuracy.

Symbolic Interactionism: A Framework for Understanding Risk-Taking Behaviors in Farm Communities

ABSTRACT Risk behaviors are key drivers of occupationally related injuries and illnesses, considerably impacting the uptake and success of injury interventions, technologies, and practices. This is certainly true in the agricultural sector, where farmers often ignore recommended safety practices or have even been known to disable safety technologies. Although research studies have characterized specific individual safety or risk behaviors, few studies have thoroughly examined farmers’ risk and safety orientations or how these develop in response to environmental and societal exposures. This study utilizes data collected over the past decade with a variety of small to midsize farm personnel to explore the meanings that farmers ascribe to risk and safety and how these influence risk and safety behaviors. In all, over 90 interviews with farmers, farm-wives, and family members were reviewed. Researchers used a grounded theory approach to identify patterns of environmental and societal exposures, as well as their impact on farmers’ risk and safety orientations. Analysis revealed exposures and orientations to risk and safety, which could be largely explained through the lens of symbolic interactionism. This framework posits that people create a sense-of-self as a way of adjusting and adapting to their environment. For farmers in this study, belief in their ability to persevere allows them to succeed, despite the considerable stressors and challenges they face each day. However, this identity can, at times, be maladaptive when it is applied to safety decisions and hazard exposures. The authors discuss the implications of this research and how it may be used to productively inform future farm safety efforts.

Community Collaborations for Farmworker Health in New York and Maine: Process Analysis of Two Successful Interventions

We conducted a process evaluation of 2 successful farmworker community-based participatory research intervention development projects (in Maine and New York State). Participant surveys measured satisfaction with the program process. We used qualitative methods to analyze free-text responses. Respondents indicated high satisfaction levels overall. The main concern was long-distance project coordination. Community-based participatory research programs in which (1) the work team defines the target health issue, (2) agricultural employers are meaningfully included, and (3) interventions are carried through to completion, warrant further study.

Building Safety Partnerships Using Social Network Analysis

Although public–private partnerships have been useful components in public health and safety initiatives, little has been published on how to cultivate effective public health and safety partnerships for upstream social marketing initiatives. Using the development of a U.S. tractor safety alliance as an example, we illustrate how social network analysis can be used to identify organizations that are likely to be strategic partners and targets for upstream social marketing. In our project, knowledgeable informants first identified members of a national agricultural stakeholder network in the United States. Then, we surveyed the representatives of these organizations about their organizations’ interest in joining a new U.S. tractor safety initiative, the connections between their own and other stakeholder organizations, and their perceptions of the organizations most able to advance a U.S. tractor safety initiative. From our analysis of these data, we identified 10 organizations that have the partnerships, resources, and interest necessary to lead an effective tractor safety partnership. These organizations will be the focus of an upstream social marketing initiative aimed at building a strategic tractor safety alliance.