Work-related musculoskeletal disorders among Irish farm operators
dc.contributor.author | Osborne, Aoife | * |
dc.contributor.author | Blake, Catherine | * |
dc.contributor.author | Meredith, David | * |
dc.contributor.author | Kinsella, Anne | * |
dc.contributor.author | Phelan, James | * |
dc.contributor.author | McNamara, John G. | * |
dc.contributor.author | Cunningham, Caitriona | * |
dc.date.accessioned | 2013-08-21T13:23:05Z | |
dc.date.available | 2013-08-21T13:23:05Z | |
dc.date.issued | 10/07/2012 | |
dc.identifier.citation | Osborne, A., Blake, C., Meredith, D., Kinsella, A., Phelan, J., McNamara, J. and Cunningham, C. (2013), Work-related musculoskeletal disorders among Irish farm operators. Am. J. Ind. Med., 56: 235–242. doi: 10.1002/ajim.22092 | en_GB |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/11019/435 | |
dc.description | pre-print | en_GB |
dc.description.abstract | Background- To establish prevalence, risk factors and impact of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) among farmers in Ireland. Methods- In summer 2009, a questionnaire was appended to the Teagasc (Irish Agricultural and Food Development Authority) National Farm Survey (n=1110) to obtain data on the prevalence, risk factors and impact of WMSDs amongst farm operators in Ireland. Data were collected by trained recorders and analyzed using chi-square tests, t-tests, Mann-Whitney tests and binary logistic regression. Results- The prevalence of WMSDs in the previous year was 9.4% (n=103), with the most commonly affected body region being the low back 31% (n=32). Nearly 60% (n=57) of farmers reported missing at least a full day’s work as a consequence of their WMSD. Personal factors evaluated using bivariate regression analysis, were found not to influence whether or not a farmer experienced a WMSD. However, work-related factors such as larger European Size Units (ESUs) (OR=1.007, CI=1.002-1.012), greater number of hectares farmed (OR=2.50, CI=1.208-4.920), higher income (OR=1.859, CI=1.088-3.177), dairy enterprise (OR=1.734, CI=1.081-2.781), and working on a fulltime farm (OR=2.156, CI=1.399-3.321) increased the likelihood of experiencing a WMSD. The variable ‘fulltime farm’ which was associated with a higher labour unit requirement to operate the farm, was the only factor found to independently predict WMSDs in the multivariate regression analyses. Conclusions- This study suggests that the prevalence of WMSDs can be reduced by the application of improved farm management practices. A more detailed examination of the risk factors associated with WMSDs is required to establish causality and hence, effective interventions. | en_GB |
dc.description.sponsorship | Health and Safety Authority, Ireland; Teagasc | en_GB |
dc.language.iso | en | en_GB |
dc.publisher | Wiley Periodicals Inc. | en_GB |
dc.relation.ispartofseries | American Journal of Industrial Medicine; | |
dc.subject | Work-related musculoskeletal disorders | en_GB |
dc.subject | Farm operators | en_GB |
dc.subject | Prevalence | en_GB |
dc.subject | Risk factors | en_GB |
dc.subject | Impact | en_GB |
dc.title | Work-related musculoskeletal disorders among Irish farm operators | en_GB |
dc.type | Preprint | en_GB |
dc.identifier.rmis | RESL-0508-5734 | |
dc.identifier.doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ajim.22092 | |
dc.contributor.sponsor | Health and Safety Authority, Ireland | |
dc.contributor.sponsor | Teagasc | |
refterms.dateFOA | 2018-01-12T07:28:59Z |