Effect of Integrated Safety Program on Safety Behaviors among Rice Farmers: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Authors

  • Anon Wisutthananon RN, PhD Candidate, Faculty of Nursing, Chiang Mai University, Thailand.
  • Chawapornpan Chanprasit RN, PhD, Associate Professor, Faculty of Nursing, Chiang Mai University, Thailand.
  • Thanee Kaewthummanukul RN, PhD, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Nursing, Chiang Mai University, Thailand.
  • Thanaruk Suwannaprapisa RN, PhD, Associate Professor, Faculty of Nursing, Chiang Mai University, Thailand.

Keywords:

Integrated safety program, Occupational health nurses, Rice farmers, Safety behavior, Work-related injuries, Workplace health promotion

Abstract

               Unsafe working behaviors are considered the most important determinants of injuries among rice farmers. This quasi-experimental study examined the effect of an integrated safety program for enhancing safety behaviors among rice farmers. Two districts in a province in Northern Thailand were purposively selected and randomly assigned to be the experimental and control groups. Eighty-two farmers from two districts were purposively selected according to thecriteria and matchingequally for each group. The experimental group only received the integrated safety program which comprised awareness raising, working behavior modification, and a supportive environment. Safety behaviors were measured by a structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and two-way repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA).

               Results revealed that the participants in the experimental group had statistically significant higher mean scores of safety behaviors that included safe pesticide use, personal protective equipment use, and compliance with safety rules and regulations, than those in the control group across all time points of measurement at weeks 8 and 12 after during follow-up. Thus, this safety intervention could be useful for nurses and occupational health professionals, and health promoters to enhance safety behaviors among rice farmers and thus reduce farmer morbidity and mortality due to unsafe work practices.

References

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] (2014). Agricultural Safety. [cited 2016 June 25]. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/aginjury/

2. Holtea A K, Follob, G. Making occupational health and safety training relevant for farmers: Evaluation of an introductory course in occupational health and safety in Norway. Safety Science. 2018; 109: 368-376

3. International Labour Organization [ILO]. Global employment trends 2012 preventing a deeper jobs crisis. International Labour Office, Geneva. 2012.

4. National Institute Occupational Safety and Health [NIOSH]. National health system employers health and well-being: Commission occupational health services; 2014.

5. Safe Work Australia. National Hazard Exposure Worker Surveillance Exposure to biological hazards and the provision of controls against biological hazards in Australian workplaces. (2013). [cited 2014 October 12]. Available from: https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/ sites/SWA/about/Publications/Documents.pdf

6. National Statistical Office of Thailand (NSO). The informal employment survey 2017 in Thailand. (2018). [cited 2019 February 19]. Available from: https://www. nso.go.th/sites/2014en/Pages/survey/Social/Labour/ The-Informal-Employment-Survey.aspx

7. Bureau of Occupational and Environmental Disease (BOED) Thailand. Situation of occupational health disease and environment. (2018). [cited 2019 February 19]. Available from: https://envocc.ddc.moph.go.th

8. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2014). Reported workplace injuries and illness -2013 in agriculture in the U.S. 2005- 2010. [cited 2019 January 20]. Available from: www. bls.gov/iif/oshsum.htm

9. Day L, Voaklander D, Sim M, Wolfe R, Langley L, Dosman J. Risk factors for work related injury among male Farmers. Occup Environ Med. 2014; 66: 312–318

10. Molineri A, Signorini M L. Tarabla H D. Risk factors for work-related injury among farm workers: a 1-year study. Rural and Remote Health. 2015; 15 (2996): 1-8

11. Chino C, Jiamjarasrangsr W. Characteristics and factors related to occupational injuries in farmers in Sankamphaeng district, Chiangmai, Thailand. Thammasat Medical Journal. 2015; 15 (2): 242-250

12. Arporn, S. Occupational Health and Safety in Agricultural worker: Oil Palm Smallholders and Worker. (2011).

13. Das, B. Agricultural work related injuries among the farmers of West Bengal, India. International Journal of Injury Control and Safety Promotion. 2014; 21 (3): 205-215

14. Morgaine C K, Langley D J, McGee O R, Gray R A. Impact evaluation of a farm safety awareness workshop in New Zealand. Scand J Work Environ Health. 2014; 40 (6): 649–653

15. Rautiainen R, Lehtola M M, Day L M, Schonstein E, Suutarinen J, Salminen S, Verbeek J H. Interventions for preventing injuries in the agricultural industry. [cited October 12 2016] Available from: https://pdfs. semanticscholar.org/dc1e/b4adfed97b5634677aa 5c934621cb3986c87.pdf

16. McCallum, M D, Murphy S, Reed B D, Claunch T D, Reynolds J S. What we know about the effectiveness of farm safety day programs and what we need to know. The Journal of Rural Health. 2013; 29: 20-29

17. Jørs E, Lander F, Huici O, Morant C R, Gulis, G, Konradsen F. Do Bolivian small holder farmers improve and retain knowledge to reduce occupational pesticide poisonings after training on Integrates Pest Management (IPM), Environmental Health. 2014; 13 (75): 2-9

18. Raksanam B, Taneepanichskul S, Siriwong W, Robson M. Multi-approach model for improving agrochemical safety among rice farmers in Pathumthani, Thailand. Risk Management and Healthcare Policy. 2012; 5: 75–82

19. O' Donnell, M.P. Health promotion in the workplace. (3rd edition). Albany, NY: Delmar; 2002.

20. Rogers, B. Occupational and environmental health nursing: Concept and Practice. (2nd ed.). Philadelphia: Saunders; 2003.

21. Waruntorn J, Chawapornpan C, Thanee K, Thomas A. M. Participatory development of an occupational health hazard reduction program in the wood furniture industry. Pacific Rim Int J Nurs Res. 2014; 18(1): 42-52

22. Massimo C, Roberto B, Davide M, Sonia M, Serenella S. Safety knowledge and Changing behavior in agricultural workers. Safety and Health at Work. 2018; 9: 164-171

23. Govinda B, Kishor A, Xiaomei Y, Lingxin F, Violette G. Factors affecting pesticide safety behavior: The perceptions of Nepalese farmers and retailers. Science of the Total Environment. 2018; 631: 1560-1571

24. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Agricultural operations hazards and solutions. [cited 2018 November 10]. Available from: https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/ agriculturaloperations/recognition.html.

25. Heinrich H. W. Industrial Accident Prevention. (2017). [cited 2019 April 5]. Available from https://safetyrisk. net/heinrichindustrial-accident-prevention/

26. The Health Communication Unit [THCU]. (2011). An introduction to comprehensive workplace health promotion. [cited 2015 April 9]. Available from https://www.thcu.ca

27. Santaweesuk S, Chapman R, Siriwong W. Effects of an injury and illness prevention program on occupational working behavior among rice farmers in Nakhonnayok province. Thailand. Risk Management and Healthcare Policy. 2014; 7: 51- 60

28. Cryer C, Langley D J, Samaranayaka A, David G, Morgaine K, Lilley R. An Outcome Evaluation of a New Zealand Farm Safety Intervention: A Historical Cohort Study. American Journal of Industrial Medicine. 2014; 57: 458–467

29. Charoensuk, N. Effectiveness of safety training program in pesticides utilization of farmers in Donchedi District, Suphanburi Province. Science and Technology Naresuan University Journal. 2016; 24 (1): 91-101

30. Chanprasit C, Songkham, W, Kaewthummanukul, T. Health hazards identification, health status, work-related injury and illness: situational analysis in small and medium sized enterprises. Nursing Journal. 2013; 37(1): 1-14

31. Damalas A C, Koutroubas D S. Farmers’ behavior in pesticide use: A key concept for improving environmental health. Environmental and Science. 2018; 4: 27-30.

32. Sharifzadeh M S, Abdollamhossein G, Damalas C, Rezaei R, Ahmadyousefi M. Determinants of pesticide safety behavior among Iranian rice farmers. Science of the Total Environment. 2019; 651: 2953-2960

33. Keun Park, Khai T. Occupational safety and health activities conducted across countries in Asia. Safety and Health at Work. 2015; 10:1-3

Downloads

Published

2019-09-16

How to Cite

1.
Wisutthananon A, Chanprasit C, Kaewthummanukul T, Suwannaprapisa T. Effect of Integrated Safety Program on Safety Behaviors among Rice Farmers: A Quasi-Experimental Study. PRIJNR [Internet]. 2019 Sep. 16 [cited 2024 Nov. 14];23(4):345-56. Available from: https://he02.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/PRIJNR/article/view/160087