Journal of AgromedicinePub Date : 2025-01-01Epub Date: 2024-09-16DOI: 10.1080/1059924X.2024.2404847
Abi Varghese, Vinay V Panicker
{"title":"Hand Tool Intervention for Rubber Tappers Using Modified Michie Golledge Knife.","authors":"Abi Varghese, Vinay V Panicker","doi":"10.1080/1059924X.2024.2404847","DOIUrl":"10.1080/1059924X.2024.2404847","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background and objectives: </strong>Rubber tapping is a physically demanding and skilled agricultural operation that can cause musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). This research investigated the impact of using an ergonomically modified rubber tapping knife on the hand posture of rubber tappers.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Initially, a postural assessment was conducted using CATIA V6 modelling software followed by a non-randomized longitudinal study with 32 rubber tappers. In the second phase, the study used a custom-modified Standard Nordic Questionnaire, video recordings, and direct observations. The study compared the results of the ergonomically modified rubber tapping knife with the traditional tapping knife, evaluating hand grip strength, endurance time chip thickness, time required to complete 300 trees, and posture using the Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) tool.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Compared to pre-tapping values, the mean reduction in grip strength after tapping was significantly less with the modified rubber tapping knife than with the traditional tapping knife (2.96 kg, SD 0.85 kg vs 7.31 kg SD 2.13 kg). Similarly, the reduction in hand endurance time was less with the modified knife than with the traditional knife (1.78 seconds, SD 0.47 seconds vs 3.34 seconds, SD 0.87 seconds). The study also indicated that the modified knife did not significantly affect chip thickness. Additionally, a slight increasing in tapping time was observed with the ergonomically modified knife, which may be attributed to a learning curve phenomenon. This suggests that as rubber tappers become more accustomed to the new tool, their efficiency may improve over time.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The hand grip strength and endurance time was significantly lower with the ergonomically modified tapping knife. The study concluded that using an ergonomically modified tapping knife led to a significant improvement in hand posture among rubber tappers.</p>","PeriodicalId":49172,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Agromedicine","volume":" ","pages":"1-13"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142299414","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Journal of AgromedicinePub Date : 2025-01-01Epub Date: 2024-09-30DOI: 10.1080/1059924X.2024.2407983
Jianghu James Dong, Carter Vogel, Yi Du, Ellen Duysen, Risto Rautiainen
{"title":"Factors Associated with Personal Protective Equipment Usage Rates in the Central States: Generalized Multilevel Multinomial Models.","authors":"Jianghu James Dong, Carter Vogel, Yi Du, Ellen Duysen, Risto Rautiainen","doi":"10.1080/1059924X.2024.2407983","DOIUrl":"10.1080/1059924X.2024.2407983","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>This study examined the factors affecting the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) among US agriculture producers, specifically focusing on chemical, respiratory, and hearing protection. The primary goals were to identify demographic and farm-related factors linked to lower PPE usage and to explore the associations between PPE use and self-reported injuries or diseases in this occupational context.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We developed generalized multilevel multinomial logistic regressions for the agricultural safety and health survey data from 2018 and 2020. Our models aimed to explore associations between PPE use, covariates, and their impact on skin diseases, hearing loss, and respiratory diseases. The hierarchical structure of the data was accommodated by designating the survey year as the level-3 variable and the state of residence as the level-2 variable, further delineating the nested structure of the respondents. We proposed using Adaptive Quadrature methods to approximate marginal maximum likelihood function, along with Gauss-Hermite quadrature weights when estimating fixed-effects and random effects in the proposed models. Missing data in this hierarchical structure were addressed through a multiple imputation method.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Our findings revealed older age is associated with lower PPE usage across all types. Males exhibited higher PPE use, particularly for chemical (OR: 1.26, 95% CI: 1.08, 1.47) and respiratory protection (OR: 1.33, 95% CI: 1.18, 1.52). Producers on grain-only farms showed increased chemical PPE use (OR: 1.26, 95% CI: 1.10, 1.43) compared to those on livestock-only farms. Additionally, individuals spending 0%-24% of their worktime on the farm/ranch demonstrated lower PPE use than those who spent more time engaged in farm-related activities.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The study underscores the importance of addressing low PPE usage among agriculture producers. Interventions tailored to specific groups, such as female producers, livestock-only farms, older-aged producers, and part-time producers, can effectively improve PPE use. By identifying these high-risk groups, interventions can be better adapted and targeted to enhance the adoption of PPE, subsequently reducing the risk of health hazards in the agriculture sector.</p>","PeriodicalId":49172,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Agromedicine","volume":" ","pages":"38-48"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142330858","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Journal of AgromedicinePub Date : 2025-01-01Epub Date: 2024-12-03DOI: 10.1080/1059924X.2025.2435239
Scott Heiberger
{"title":"Journal of Agromedicine \"Leader in the Field\" 2025 S. Dee Jepsen.","authors":"Scott Heiberger","doi":"10.1080/1059924X.2025.2435239","DOIUrl":"10.1080/1059924X.2025.2435239","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":49172,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Agromedicine","volume":" ","pages":"182-184"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142773997","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Journal of AgromedicinePub Date : 2025-01-01Epub Date: 2024-10-15DOI: 10.1080/1059924X.2024.2416427
Kaleigh Barnett, Courtney Cuthbertson, Josie M Rudolphi
{"title":"Identifying and Describing Mental Health Stigma Among Agricultural Youth Directors: Does Stigma Influence Practices?","authors":"Kaleigh Barnett, Courtney Cuthbertson, Josie M Rudolphi","doi":"10.1080/1059924X.2024.2416427","DOIUrl":"10.1080/1059924X.2024.2416427","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>This exploratory study aims to: 1) evaluate mental health stigma levels among agricultural youth directors, 2) examine the influence of professional characteristics on stigma, and 3) investigate the relationship between agricultural youth directors' stigma levels and their self-efficacy.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>An online survey was administered from March to May 2022 to 642 agricultural youth directors in Illinois who work with youth aged 1-19. Directors' personal and perceived stigmas toward mental illness were measured using the Depression Stigma Scale. Directors' self-efficacy (perceived level of knowledge and confidence) across 19 mental health topics was measured using a 3-point Likert scale. Analyses were conducted by generating descriptive statistics and performing Mann-Whitney U tests on the data.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The median personal depression stigma score was 7.57 (SD = 8.02). Our analyses identified significantly higher personal depression stigma scores among men, FFA advisors, agricultural educators, and those lacking personal experience with mental illness. A lack of self-efficacy correlated significantly with increased personal stigma.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study underscores the critical need for targeted educational interventions to reduce stigma among agricultural youth directors and enchance mental health literacy. Anti-stigma and mental health literacy initiatives are essential for fostering a supportive environment that encourages open discussions about mental health issues with youth within the agricultural community.</p>","PeriodicalId":49172,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Agromedicine","volume":" ","pages":"80-94"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142478764","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Journal of AgromedicinePub Date : 2025-01-01Epub Date: 2024-10-23DOI: 10.1080/1059924X.2024.2416425
Grant Erlandson, Sheryl Magzamen, Julia L Sharp, James Seidel, Jill A Poole, Mary Bradford, Joshua W Schaeffer
{"title":"Hypertonic Saline Nasal Rinse Intervention: Immunomodulatory Effects in Dairy Workers.","authors":"Grant Erlandson, Sheryl Magzamen, Julia L Sharp, James Seidel, Jill A Poole, Mary Bradford, Joshua W Schaeffer","doi":"10.1080/1059924X.2024.2416425","DOIUrl":"10.1080/1059924X.2024.2416425","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Increased risk of occupational exposure to bioaerosols has long been recognized in livestock operations including dairy facilities. Spanning the inhalable fraction (0-100 μm), dairy bioaerosols comprise a wide variety of inflammatory components that deposit in the nasopharyngeal region. The resultant inflammatory response from bioaerosol exposure is likely driving the increased prevalence of respiratory disease observed in dairy workers. It is also thought the microbiome of the upper respiratory system may help mediate this inflammation. We investigated the viability of a low-cost hypertonic saline nasal rinse intervention in modulating inflammatory responses in bioaerosol exposed dairy workers and its impact on microbial diversity.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Pre- and post-shift nasal rinses were administered and collected alongside full shift inhalable personal breathing zone (PBZ) samples for each participant for up to 5 consecutive days. Treatment group participants (<i>n</i> = 23) received hypertonic saline rinses while control group participants (<i>n</i> = 22) received normotonic saline rinses. Particulate matter (PM) and endotoxin concentrations were quantified from PBZ samples using gravimetric and enzymatic analytical methods, respectively. Pre- and post-shift rinses were analyzed for pro- and anti-inflammatory markers and microbial diversity using a multiplex assay and 16S rRNA sequencing, respectively.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>PM and endotoxin concentrations were comparable between groups indicating similar exposures. Post-shift pro-inflammatory markers were significantly higher than pre-shift for IL-13 (<i>p</i> = .047), IL-1β (<i>p</i> < .001), IL-6 (<i>p</i> < .001), IL-8 (<i>p</i> < .001), and TNF-α (<i>p</i> = .024). There was no evidence of a difference in log concentrations between intervention group or day among any of the measured inflammatory markers. Anti-inflammatory IL-10 concentrations increased across the 5 sample days, independent of treatment group suggesting tonicity may not be driving the change. However, this result was not significant (<i>p</i> = .217). Nasal microbiome alpha (within sample) and beta (between sample) diversity metrics did not differ significantly between group or day demonstrating no adverse washout intervention effects.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This study provided encouraging results that warrant future research to further evaluate saline nasal rinses as a workplace intervention.</p>","PeriodicalId":49172,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Agromedicine","volume":" ","pages":"27-37"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142511401","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Journal of AgromedicinePub Date : 2025-01-01Epub Date: 2024-11-11DOI: 10.1080/1059924X.2024.2427800
Florence Becot, Shoshanah Inwood, Hannah Budge
{"title":"\"The Source of All My Joy and All My Stress\": Children and Childcare as Underappreciated Sources of Stress That Affect Farm Women.","authors":"Florence Becot, Shoshanah Inwood, Hannah Budge","doi":"10.1080/1059924X.2024.2427800","DOIUrl":"10.1080/1059924X.2024.2427800","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Women have always played a crucial role in agriculture through their work on the farm, caring for the family and the household, and off-farm employment. Yet, like their essential contributions to agriculture, their mental health and well-being have largely been invisible since much of the focus of the mental health in agriculture research has been on older, male farmers. This paper seeks to address this knowledge gap by focusing on the emotional consequences stemming from the expectations of juggling childcare responsibilities, farm work and managing the household whilst keeping children safe.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The data were collected via focus groups and photovoice activity with, respectively, 68 and 33 farm women from Ohio, Wisconsin, and Vermont.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The content thematic analysis first indicates that the juggling of multiple roles along with limited support deeply impacted farm women's wellbeing. Worries that the children could get hurt was a major source of stress. Stress and mental health issues connected to children do not lessen as they age but rather shift and become more complex.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This article highlights the implications of the lack of investment in farm women's mental wellbeing and their lived realities of caring for children on the farm. Future research should address supply chain and affordability issues, particularly for rural childcare provision.</p>","PeriodicalId":49172,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Agromedicine","volume":" ","pages":"114-131"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142631232","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Journal of AgromedicinePub Date : 2025-01-01Epub Date: 2024-11-12DOI: 10.1080/1059924X.2024.2426491
Salah F Issa, Mahmoud S Issa, Eric Nauman, Carl Wassgren, Charles Schwab, Zahab S Ahsan, Mahmoud Nour, William Field
{"title":"Tensile Force Limits of the Sheep Spine: Comparison to Forces Required to Extricate Grain Entrapped Victims.","authors":"Salah F Issa, Mahmoud S Issa, Eric Nauman, Carl Wassgren, Charles Schwab, Zahab S Ahsan, Mahmoud Nour, William Field","doi":"10.1080/1059924X.2024.2426491","DOIUrl":"10.1080/1059924X.2024.2426491","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Grain storage facility entrapments continue to be of concern in the agricultural industry, with nearly 1,500 documented incidents recorded over the last 45 years. Previous research studies have shown that attempting to extricate a full-size pulling test dummy from a grain mass requires a substantial amount of tensile or pull force - e.g. up to 1.32 kN if \"buried\" at waist depth, 2.77 kN at chest depth, and 4.01 kN at head depth. There is, however, a paucity of studies on the amount of distraction the human lumbar spine region can endure. The objective of this research study was to test the maximum tensile force that could be exerted on a sheep's spine (comparable to the human spine) before the intervertebral discs and surrounding ligament would show signs of failure.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Eight lumbar-region sheep spine segments were axially distracted using an MTS Criterion tensile testing machine, and the maximum forces were recorded.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The average maximum force that the spinal discs and ligament withstood before showing signs of failure was 2.14 kN (standard deviation of 0.31 kN). This is comparable to the force required to extricate an individual entrapped in a grain mass at chest depth.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The authors recommend that grain entrapment victims should not be forcefully pulled out if buried to waist level or above due to two primary reasons: (1) the large variation in failure load observed in our experiment with sheep spines and (2) the lack of knowledge regarding the victim's pre-existing medical condition. The extractive forces required to remove a victim of entrapment in grain overlaps with the force needed to cause potential damage to the sheep spine, as the 1.7-3.0 kN range is comparable to the 1.65-2.48 kN force range that causes axial failure in the spine.</p>","PeriodicalId":49172,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Agromedicine","volume":" ","pages":"49-56"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142631260","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Journal of AgromedicinePub Date : 2025-01-01Epub Date: 2024-11-19DOI: 10.1080/1059924X.2024.2426500
Nathan Dawes, Richard C Franklin
{"title":"The Protective Factors of Suicide in Agriculture: A Global Scoping Review.","authors":"Nathan Dawes, Richard C Franklin","doi":"10.1080/1059924X.2024.2426500","DOIUrl":"10.1080/1059924X.2024.2426500","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Each year, over 700,000 people die by suicide worldwide, and far more attempt and are impacted by the outcome. Agriculture is one of the most dangerous industries in which to work; it is also exposed to a lot of external stressors, such as climatic conditions, market forces (both input and output) and government regulation, as well as internal such as employment and of staff, multiple skills required and isolation. These stressors contribute to the higher rate of farm suicide cases. While there is growing evidence of the protective circumstances (factors) that protect against suicide and suicidality, more needs to be done in the agricultural sector.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>To review global literature and consolidate the current knowledge regarding protective factors against suicide and suicidality in agricultural communities and elucidate the implications of these findings.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>A systematic scoping review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-Sc). A range of databases was searched for the terms \"suicide*\" or \"suicidal behavior\", \"suicide attempt\", or \"suicidal ideation\", or \"suicidality\", and \"farm*\" or 'agricultural worker*' or 'rancher*' and 'protective factors' or protect\". Paper included had to be peer reviewed in English, include people living, working in or with agriculture or lived in an agricultural area.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Fourteen studies met the study criteria, predominately (72%) from the United States of America and Australia. Four (29%) articles discussed individual coping mechanisms and self-reliance as protective factors against suicide and suicidality, while six (43%) described the influence of social support and perceived sense of belonging on suicide risk. Five (36%) papers examined the association between health-promoting and suicide-prevention initiatives as protective factors in agricultural communities.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>There is limited, however, growing literature about protective factors for the prevention of suicide in agriculture; however, it is skewed to high-income countries. This review demonstrates a link between the development of individual coping skills as a protective factor against suicide in agricultural communities, with a primary focus on farming occupations within this setting. Social support was found to help reduce suicide risk by increasing a sense of belonging. These need to be exploited to drive down suicide rates.</p>","PeriodicalId":49172,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Agromedicine","volume":" ","pages":"165-181"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142669353","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Journal of AgromedicinePub Date : 2025-01-01Epub Date: 2024-11-11DOI: 10.1080/1059924X.2024.2421982
Jorie Knook, Nicky Stanley-Clarke, Robbie Maris, Amanda Hay, Chris Andrews, Louise Winder
{"title":"A Mixed Methods Assessment of an Online Mental Health and Resilience Program for Agricultural Sector Students.","authors":"Jorie Knook, Nicky Stanley-Clarke, Robbie Maris, Amanda Hay, Chris Andrews, Louise Winder","doi":"10.1080/1059924X.2024.2421982","DOIUrl":"10.1080/1059924X.2024.2421982","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Financial, environmental, and socio-cultural challenges affect the mental health and wellbeing of those working and living on-farm. Education programs can help in improving mental health and overall wellbeing, but most of these programs are offered to established farmers in a face-to-face format, leading to a gap in offerings to many subgroups, including young agricultural entrants. To address these gaps, this paper assesses the value of an online mental health and resilience education program for young agricultural entrants. An explanatory sequential mixed methods approach was applied. Firstly, a quantitative survey was conducted with 172 first year agricultural tertiary students, aged 18-20, to assess the knowledge and skills gained due to program participation. Regressions and propensity score matching were used to determine the effect of program participation. Subsequently, seven interviews were conducted with program participants to provide insights into their experiences of the program. Thematic coding was applied to analyze the qualitative data. Findings from the quantitative survey show a significant increase in mental health knowledge and skills amongst program participants compared to participants in the control group. The qualitative interviews show the ability to work through the material in their own time and space, creates a safe environment for online students. Other mechanisms contributing to learning are using \"normal language\", a peer voice in communicating wellbeing, and building on learnings in previous education. This paper addresses a gap in literature by being the first study to evaluate online mental health education for agricultural tertiary students. It provides educators and other program designers with valuable information for future program design to support the wellbeing of young agricultural workers.</p>","PeriodicalId":49172,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Agromedicine","volume":" ","pages":"95-104"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142631253","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Journal of AgromedicinePub Date : 2025-01-01Epub Date: 2024-10-08DOI: 10.1080/1059924X.2024.2413086
Asghar Bagheri, Ziba Shirzadi, Ali Akbar Shokohian, Abolmohammad Bondori, Christos A Damalas
{"title":"Occupational Exposure to Pesticides, Personal Protection, and Willingness to Reduce Chemical Sprayings Among Iranian Greenhouse Farmers.","authors":"Asghar Bagheri, Ziba Shirzadi, Ali Akbar Shokohian, Abolmohammad Bondori, Christos A Damalas","doi":"10.1080/1059924X.2024.2413086","DOIUrl":"10.1080/1059924X.2024.2413086","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>The level of greenhouse farmers' personal protection in pesticide use and the possibility of environmental protection through farmers' willingness to reduce chemical sprayings were assessed in Khuzestan Province, Iran.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A survey of 80 active greenhouse vegetable growers was carried out in 2021 with face-to-face interviews. Willingness to reduce chemical sprayings was examined with the theory of planned behavior (TPB) model.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Several intoxication symptoms were reported, with the most common symptom of pesticide intoxication being dizziness. Farmers showed unsafe or rather unsafe use of personal protective equipment (PPE) during pesticide handling. The maximum use of PPE pertained to the use of mask, spray clothing, and long-sleeved shirts. On a scale from 1 (= totally disagree) to 5 (= totally agree), the respondents showed negative attitudes towards reducing chemical sprayings (mean = 2.30), rather low levels of subjective norms (mean = 2.67), and rather low levels of perceived behavioral control over reduction of chemical sprayings (mean = 2.76). The TPB variables accounted for 73% of the variance in farmers' behavioral intention. Overall, farmers' behavioral intention to reduce chemical sprayings was almost neutral.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Increasing knowledge of the adverse effects of pesticides on health is necessary to promote safety behavior of farmers in the greenhouse.</p>","PeriodicalId":49172,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Agromedicine","volume":" ","pages":"14-26"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142394617","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}