A systematic review 1 including 25 studies with various study designs was abstracted in DARE.
Farm safety education interventions (11 studies):
The only intervention that compared actual injury rates before and after the intervention found a reduction in injuries from 21 injuries/1 000 work days to 12.
Many of the studies reported increases in the correct responses of participants to questions on farm safety, more appropriate attitudes about farm safety and/or self-reported (or intended) changes in farm safety behaviours after the interventions.
Multifaceted interventions that included environmental revisions and/or a safety audit (5 studies).
All of these studies reported some positive changes in outcomes following the intervention. One study found a 27% decrease in the number of worker compensation claims filed after the intervention. Researchers conducted random inspections of 25% of the farms and found that 95% of hazard corrections had been made as was self-reported.
In one randomised controlled trial of 200 farmers, injury rates dropped from 33.4 to 20.1 injuries per 100 000 work hours for the intervention group.
Programs without completed evaluations (9 studies).
Some of the studies had evaluations planned or in progress whilst others did not. Only two study designs included the collection of data on injuries.
Comment: The quality of evidence is downgraded by indirectness (differences in studied interventions and reported outcomes).
Primary/Secondary Keywords