AGRICULTURAL SAFETY

Occupational Injury Surveillance of Production Agriculture (OISPA) Survey

Technical Information

DATA SOURCE & CASE DEFINITIONS

Data Source

OISPA data were collected through an interagency agreement between the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). NIOSH collaborated with NASS to collect data for adult occupational injuries occurring on U.S. operated farms.

Sample Design

The OISPA was conducted in conjunction with the Childhood Agricultural Injury Survey (CAIS). Using the Census of Agriculture as a sampling frame, a stratified (by geographic region) random sample of 50,000 farm households nationwide was selected for inclusion in the CAIS. A stratified random subsample of 25,000 farms was selected for the OISPA. OISPA collected data on U.S. farms that included information on farm characteristics, household demographics, and occupational injuries to adults 20 years of age and older living on, working on, and visiting the farm. Detailed injury information was collected for the two most recent injury events that occurred on each farm.

Case Definitions

Adult – anyone 20 years of age and older.

Farm – any crop and/or livestock operation with $1,000 or more of gross agricultural production within a calendar year.

Occupational Injury – any traumatic event that resulted in at least 4 hours of restricted activity or required professional medical attention, and occurred while performing activities that had a direct impact on the farming operation as a business, regardless of whether the activity was performed for pay.

All working adult definitions – To facilitate the correct matching of injury estimates to working adults, specific demographic terms were used for the various combinations of populations in OISPA. They are defined as:

• All working adults – the sum of all working (paid and unpaid) adult categories (i.e., working household adults, adult hired workers, working adult visitors (i.e., relatives and non-relatives)).
• Household adults – adult members of the farm operator’s household who performed work (paid and unpaid) on the farm.
• Hired workers – adults hired directly by the farm operator and paid for work performed on the farm. These exclude contract laborers.
• Working visitors – adults who performed work (paid and unpaid) while visiting the farm. These include both visiting relatives and non-relatives.

ESTIMATES

Demographic Estimates

OISPA is designed to produce national and regional estimates of the number of working adults 20 years of age and older on U.S. farms by various demographic characteristics. Working adult estimates include household adults, hired adults, and visiting adults who performed farm work for the years 2001, 2004, 2009, 2012 and 2014.

Injury Estimates

OISPA is designed to produce national and regional estimates of the number of occupational injuries to workers 20 years of age and older on U.S. farms by various injury characteristics. Occupational injury information is collected for all working adults on farms for the years 2001, 2004, 2009, 2012 and 2014. This includes adults living on, working on, or visiting the farm. Occupational injury data include information on the nature of the injury, the source of injury, the type of injury event, and the body part injured. Basic demographic information for all injured working adults is also collected.

Weighting

Sampling weights for OISPA were calculated based on the total number of farms responding by geographical region and the number of farms reported by NASS in the appropriate year for each region. The nine geographical regions used are those defined by the U.S. Bureau of the Census. Weights were then adjusted based on three farm value of sales categories (< $10,000, $10,000 – $99,999, > $99,999). All estimates for both the injury and demographic data were obtained using the SAS SurveyMeans procedure for a stratified equal probability sample.

DATA ELEMENTS

Age

Age, in years, at the time of injury.

Notes – Age groups are inclusive of the years listed in the range. For injury estimates, age is available for all injured working adults.

Body Part Affected

The region or part of the body injured.

Farm Type

The type of production indicated for the respondent which represents the largest proportion of gross income for the farm operation.

Injury Type

Respondent-report of the type or nature of injury that occurred (e.g., burn, fracture).

OIICS Event Code

The manner in which the injury was produced or inflicted as coded in the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS version 2.01). The OIICS coding manual is available online from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Notes – The event or exposure is classified in a hierarchical structure with general divisions: contact with objects; falls; bodily reaction and exertion; exposure to harmful substances or environments; transportation accidents; fires and explosions; assaults and violent acts; other events or exposures; and non-classifiable. Each case is coded to the most significant level of detail permitted by using the information abstracted from a narrative.

OIICS Source Code

The object, substance, bodily motion, or exposure which directly produced or inflicted the injury or illness as coded in the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS version 2.01).

Notes – The source is classified in a hierarchical structure with general divisions: chemicals and chemical products; containers; furniture and fixtures; machinery; parts and materials; persons, plants, animals, and minerals; structures and surfaces; tools, instruments, and equipment; vehicles; other sources; and non-classifiable. The injury source is coded in a similar fashion and level of detail as the injury event. However, there are more codes available for source than event because of the diversity of items that could produce an injury.

Region

Geographic regions as defined by the U.S. Bureau of the Census.

Note – A Census regional map is available at: www2.census.gov/geo/pdfs/maps-data/maps/reference/us_regdiv.pdf

Relationship to Farm

The distinction between various relationship(s) an injured person could have to a farm operator. The relationship(s) are grouped as:

• Household: a member of the farm operator’s household (farm operator, his/her spouse, child/step child).
• Visitor: a visiting relative to the farm operation or a non-relative visitor.
• Hired: a paid worker or laborer hired directly by the farm operator.

Note – See also Type of Adult Worker

Sex

The distinction between male and female.

Type of Adult Worker

Identification of whether the adult lived on, worked on, or was a visitor to the farm. In all cases, adults are defined as being 20 years of age or older.

• All Working Adults: the sum of all working (paid and unpaid) adult categories (i.e., working household adults, adult hired workers, working adult visitors (i.e., relatives and non-relatives)).
• Household Adults: adult members of the farm operator’s household who performed work (paid or unpaid) on the farm.
• Hired Workers: adults hired directly by the farm operator and paid for work performed on the farm. These exclude contract laborers.
• Working Visitors: adults who performed work (paid and unpaid) while visiting the farm. These include both visiting relatives and non-relatives.

Note – See also Relationship to Farm

DATA LIMITATIONS

Disclaimer

Although NIOSH extends considerable effort to insure reasonable data quality for OISPA estimates, there are no warranties expressed or implied with these data. The objective of OISPA is to provide public access to population, injury, and health information for working adults on U.S. farms for use in farm safety and injury prevention activities where understanding the general magnitude of these characteristics are important. Use of these data for other purposes should be done with caution.

Limitations

There are several limitations to the estimates derived from OISPA. First, the recall period for an injury was up to 15 months. While the definition of injury excluded minor injuries, which may be easily forgotten, there is still the possibility that a reportable injury was not remembered by a respondent. A second limitation is that most of the respondents were the female head of household, which may have resulted in an under reporting of hired worker injuries, especially for larger farming operations with many employees. Third, there was no way to verify the accuracy or completeness of the responses, which could impart some measurement error into the overall results. Fourth, the survey did not capture injuries that occurred to contract farm workers. A final limitation is the possibility of a non-response bias. Due to the survey design, it was not possible to make a second contact to farm operators who refused to participate in the survey. This did not allow for a followback questionnaire to assess these refusals.