The Safety Education Training Needs Of Farmers And Ranchers With Physical Disabilities

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the perceived safety education training needs of individuals who were farming or ranching with a physical disability. A survey was developed and administered to 1,954 farmers and ranchers who were known to have severe physical disabilities. A total of 627 surveys were returned for a response rate of 32.1 percent. Of the surveys returned, 552 were used in the final evaluation. Slightly over 41 percent of the respondents reported spinal cord injury as their disability and over 30 percent reported either an upper or lower limb amputation. Forty percent had been disabled for less than 10 years. Working with livestock was perceived by the respondents to be the most hazardous task on their farming or ranching operation, followed closely by operation of tractors and machinery. The participants in this study indicated a great need for educational safety training to reduce their rate of injury. They identified newsletters and related resources as being the most helpful in preventing injuries to those farming and ranching with a physical disability, as well as that most helpful system of delivering safety information, followed by farm magazines and the Cooperative Extension Service. Safety topic information most desired by respondents was machinery and tractors, followed by livestock.