Occupational risky business: injury prevention behaviors of farm women and children.

On farms in the United States, there are approximately 100 fatal and 32,800 nonfatal injuries annually in children 19 years and younger (United States Department of Labor, 1999). Up to 40% of nonfatally injured children are left with permanent disabilities. The impact of injury and death on children associated with farming in the United States is substantial. Research suggests that modeling of health behaviors may be an effective technique for the socialization of children's health behaviors. The purpose of this study is twofold. First, the study describes the participation and use of protective farm equipment or practices by the caregiver and the child. The second purpose is to compare the practices of the caregivers and the children in relation to the use of protective farm equipment and practices. Descriptive and categorical data analysis methods were used to examine the associations of 177 pairs of caregivers and children and their use of protective equipment and preventative behaviors. Greater than 50% of the children under the age of 7 had handled or touched livestock, as well as rode as passengers on tractors. Many children in all age categories had ridden in the back of pick-up trucks. Modeling of the prevention behavior by the caregivers did parallel the use of the equipment by the children. However, the opposite also was true; if the caregiver did not use the equipment, neither did the child.