# An Overview of the NIOSH 

# Agricultural Injury Surveillance

Program

# Agricultural safety and health has been an important focus of the National Institute 

# for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) for more than 20 years .

# How it began... 1990 - Congress designated NIOSH to lead a comprehensive national effort to prevent 

# occupational injuries and disease in agriculture

# NIOSH Agricultural Programs NIOSH programs directed by Congress  Agricultural Health and Safety Initiative  Childhood Agricultural Injury Prevention Initiative

# Agricultural Health and Safety



# Initiative

• 

### Initiated to reduce the occurrence of occupational injuries and illnesses on farms in the US

• 

### NIOSH has worked with USDA, NASS to track occupational injuries and the presence of tractor safety devices on farms 

### since 1993

# Childhood Agricultural Injury



# Prevention Initiative

• NIOSH initiative to reduce injuries to youth on farms in the US • Tracking injuries is a major part of the initiative. Includes both work and non -work injuries

# Initial Efforts 1993 Farm Family Health and Hazard Survey Traumatic Injury Surveillance of Farmers (TISF) 1999 Childhood Agricultural Injury Survey (CAIS) 2001 Occupational Injury Surveillance of Production Agriculture (OISPA)

# NIOSH Farm Operator Surveys Adult Occupational Farm Injury Studies: • All farms (TISF) -- 1993 - 1995 • All farms (OISPA) -- 2001, 2004, 2009, 2012, 2014 • Minority farms (M -OISPA) – 2003, 2008 

### Childhood Agricultural Injury Studies: • All farms (CAIS) -- 1998, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2014 • Minority farms (M -CAIS ) -- 2000, 2003, 2008 

### Farm Hazard Assessments: • All Farms (FSS ) -- 2006 and 2011

## National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS)

Injury Supplement

• Supplement collects injury data for hired crop workers



### • Years of data collection completed: • Period I - 1999, 2002 - 2004 • Period II - 2008- 2010

# Data Summary Childhood Agricultural Injury • Injuries to all youth on farms decreased 63% (37,400 to 13,996) • Work- related farm injuries to youth decreased 82% (16,695 to 2,739 ) • Injury rates for farm household youth decreased 51% (16.6/1,000 youth to 8.1/1,000 youth ) 

### Adult Occupational Injury • Adult work- related farm injuries have declined 30% (87,503 to 61,057) • Work injuries to farm household members have declined 22% (56,661 to 43,987) 

### NAWS – injury supplement • Injury rate for hired crop workers decreased 33% (4.3 to 2.9/100 FTE WB )

## Current Data Collection CAIS/OISPA Data are currently being collected for calendar year 2014 

### NAWS – injury supplement Data are currently being collected for 2014- 2015 cycle

# Public Access to Data Tables

CAIS - http ://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/childag/CAIS/default.html Youth Injuries - General Farm Population M -CAIS - http ://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/childag/MCAIS/default.html Youth Injuries - Minority Operated Farms OISPA – http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/aginjury/oispa/default.html Adult Occupational Injuries – General Farm Population M -OIPSA - http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/aginjury/m -oispa/default.html Adult Occupational Injuries – Minority Operated Farms FSS - http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/aginjury/fss/default.html Farm Hazards - General Farm Population

# Change to NIOSH Agricultural

Surveillance Surveillance efforts involving surveys through the U.S. Department of Labor’s NAWS – Injury Supplement and 

### the U.S. Department of Agriculture (farm operator surveys) will be discontinued

# Affected Data

• The numbers of youth living on, visiting, and working on farms • The numbers and rates of injury for youth who live and work on farms • The numbers and rates of injuries to adults who work on farms • The numbers of tractors not equipped with ROPS • Injury information for hired crop workers • Data on farm hazards, such as silos and manure storage• Decreases in the number of on -farm injuries for youth and adults require

increased sample sizes to provide stable injury estimates

• NIOSH does not have the resources to support the cost of the increased sample size

• NIOSH is exploring ways to improve agriculture injury surveillance for the future.

• Information gathered from stakeholders and peers in this meeting and submitted to the docket will be used to propose future directions for NIOSH supported agricultural surveillance 

## Why this change is necessary

# Comment Submission

Comments must reference Docket : CDC- 2015 -0005; NIOSH - 281 Submit to: http://www.regulations.gov

or National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health NIOSH Docket Office 1090 Tusculum Avenue MS C- 34 Cincinnati , Ohio 45226- 1998 . Written comments must be submitted by May 27, 2015For more information please contact: Kitty Hendricks - khendricks@cdc.gov 1095 Willowdale Rd, MS – 1808 Morgantown, WV 26505 Telephone: 304- 285 - 6252 The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.