Childhood Agricultural Injury Prevention Among Organic Farmer Mothers

Purpose: Rates of organic farms and women organic farmers are increasing. Yet, this recent surge brings new and uncertain challenges for injury epidemiology. Since many in the population are of child-bearing age, and child agricultural injury is a significant threat, of particular relevance are the knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs towards risk of child injury. Methods: A paper, self-administered 11-question questionnaire was distributed at four events geared towards early career women organic farmers. The questionnaire generated data around select demographics, attitudes towards farm safety, and sources of safety knowledge. Findings & Discussion: The questionnaire had a 45% response rate. As expected, most respondents were new to farming (1–3 years’ experience as a primary owner/operator), and 47% reported having a child under the age of 18 years work on the farm. While respondents recognized farms were generally unsafe for children, they reported their own farm as safe for children. Preferred sources of safety knowledge were those with user-generated content from other farmers. Conclusion: Interventions with new women organic farmers in the Midwest are likely to be most effective by incorporating social media, networking with area farmers’ groups, and addressing the optimism bias. Information not explicitly marketed as safety information may gain traction. A more complete analysis of risk, incidence, and prevalence of this niche population is important.