Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Protecting Farm Kids: NIOSH Highlights Ag Injury Prevention Research

NIOSH's latest publication, "Summary of NIOSH Childhood Agricultural Injury Prevention Extramural Research: A Quindecennial (1997–2011) of Progress," summarizes 15 years of childhood agricultural injury data and highlights the agency’s extramural research in childhood agricultural injury prevention. The research was funded by grants from Childhood Agricultural Injury Prevention Initiative (CAIPI), which NIOSH and its partners formed in 1996. Examples of the research conducted include health outcomes and interventions in small-scale operations, risk factors among seasonal farmworker children, and evaluation of school-based and other curriculum, among others.

“Dramatic progress has been made in reducing the number and rate of childhood agricultural injuries since the imple­mentation of the Childhood Agricultural Injury Prevention Initiative,” says NIOSH Director John Howard. “Appropriate prioritization of childhood agricultural safety and health activities, and the development and implementation of effective prevention efforts, continues to be a priority for NIOSH and its partners in agricultural production and agricultural safety.”