Prevention strategies for injury prevention in agriculture

Objectives Agriculture is an industry with a number of challenges regarding safety and health issues. The high levels of fatal and non-fatal injuries are the major problem that needs a solution. It is still dominated by small family-operated farms in Sweden, but is so much differentiated which makes every farm unique. This sectors structure needs special type of strategies for injury prevention and in order to get an overview of recent methods being used world-wide a project was initiated and financed by the Swedish Work Environment Authority. Methods A literature survey was done on studies involving interventions and other strategies in order to reduce the frequency of injuries in agriculture. Results The results show that: world-wideThe use of machinery and tractors, animal handling and falls are the major issues There is no single solution that gives a major solution on the injuries in agriculture of reducing injuries in the sector. A combination of solution in coordinated programs seems to be the most efficient way– interesting programs are running in Sweden, New Zealand and USA.