1. What’s Killing Farmers in Canada Don Voaklander, PhD for The CAIR Collaborators

2. 2 Today’s Talk Canadian Agricultural Injury Reporting Farm Fatalities in Canada Older Farmers – a High Risk Group CAIR – Future Directions

3. SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM Agricultural fatalities account for about 13% of all occupational fatalities in Canada. Fatality rate is about 50% higher than the aggregate occupational fatality rate. Very Limited Research/Surveillance –Alberta Emergency Departments –Manitoba Family Physicians –Saskatchewan Family Physicians –Ontario Mortality and Morbidity Data

4. SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM Surveillance of other labour sectors based on Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) statistics Farmers and agricultural workers are not obliged to have workers’ compensation Less than 10% of agricultural workers in Canada are covered by WCBs.

5. CANADIAN AGRICULTURAL INJURY REPORTING Funded by the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association (CASA) which is funded through Agriculture Canada Other activities of CASA include: –farm safety program development –national strategy development –common link for all provincial farm safety initiatives

6. CANADIAN AGRICULTURAL INJURY REPORTING History –Conceived by Dr. Rob Brison at Queen’s University –Pilot project conducted in late 1995 –Brought together Canadians with an interest in farm injury surveillance –described existing databases and their potential utility for surveillance –catalogued current surveillance efforts

7. CANADIAN AGRICULTURAL INJURY REPORTING History (cont.) –As of January, 1997, all provinces as well as representatives of the federal government involved. –Broad base of experience, with representatives from the labour, agriculture, and university communities.

8. CANADIAN AGRICULTURAL INJURY REPORTING Objectives –To develop a coordinated system for the assembly of national farm injury surveillance data. –To ensure that the collected information is interpreted and communicated in forms that are acceptable to potential data users in the agricultural industry –To ensure that the surveillance system is sustained.

9. CAIR - METHODS Denominator - all persons who either live or work on a Canadian farm that produces: –crops, livestock, poultry, animal products, greenhouse or nursery products, mushrooms, sod, honey, or maple syrup

10. CAIR - METHODS Fatality Data - Definition –Any accidental injury resulting in death that occurred during activities related to the operation of a farm or that involved any hazard of a farm environment. –This includes motor vehicles that are being used for farm work.

11. CAIR - METHODS Fatality Data Sources –Potential sources for farm fatalities are identified in each province Provincial Coroner’s offices Occupational Health Agencies Vital Statistics Police Farm Safety Associations

12. CAIR - METHODS Fatality Data –Cases are identified –Data are abstracted using a standardized form –Data are entered provincially into a common database –Data are sent to the national CAISP office

13. CAIR - METHODS Data abstracted from the Coroner’s office include: –cause of fatality –type of machinery involved, if any –location of fatality (eg. field, farm yard, etc.) –status of fatality (eg. owner, paid worker, etc.) –text description of fatality

14. 14 Latest Developments Re-branding of CAISP into CAIR – Canadian Agriculture Injury Reporting Transfer of CAIR from Queen’s University to the University of Alberta

15. 15 FARM FATALIES IN CANADA

16. 16 Fatal Agricultural Injuries by Calendar Year 1990-2005 Total = 1,615

17. 17 Rolling Five Year Averages of Fatal Injuries by Age Group 1990-2005

18. 18 Age Standardized Rates and Number of Farm Fatalities

19. 19 Fatal Agricultural Injuries by Location 1990-2005

20. 20 Fatal Agricultural Injuries by Major Cause 1990-2005

21. 21 Fatal Agricultural Injuries by Cause of Injury 1990-2005

22. 22 Fatal Agricultural Injuries by Body Part Injured 1990-2005

23. 23 Fatal Machine-Related Injuries by Machine Type 1990-2005

24. 24 Fatal Agricultural Runovers by Category 1990-2005

25. 25 Fatal Agricultural Machine Rollovers by Type 1990-2005

26. 26 Fatal Agricultural Injuries by Age Group and Gender 1990-2005

27. 27 Fatal Agricultural Rates by Gender and Age Category 1990-2005

28. 28 Older Farmers – A High Risk Group

29. 29 Fatalities in Senior Farmers by Main Cause

30. 30 Machinery in Operation at time of Death

31. 31 Tractor Related Fatality

32. 32 Other Machinery Related Deaths - Mechanism

33. 33 Non-Machinery Related Mechanisms of Fatality

34. 34 Who are the Fatalities?

35. 35 Was the Fatality Witnessed?

36. Major Findings Older farmers continue to be at a greater risk of death and injury as a result of their participation in farm activities. There appears to be differences in the distribution of causes of injury/fatality There are differences by farmer status that may contribute to fatality and injury

37. 37 Farmer Status Large Male:Female Ratios –Fatalities – 25:1 Older farmer fatalities –Owner/operators –Working alone

38. 38 Recommendations More research examining older farmers’ exposure to hazards Older farmers should avoid working alone Long hours running machinery should be avoided Falls are an issue for all seniors –Tasks where dynamic balance is needed should be avoided. Engineering solutions may help prevent falls off of machinery – safe access platforms More research into health status of older farmers

39. 39 Future Directions for CAIR Re-institute hospital level data collection –Process similar to fatality data –Collection ceased in most provinces in 2000 Work closely with the Public Health Agency of Canada –Sustainable funding –Integration with other health surveillance systems

40. 40 THANK YOU