Citation

Locker AR, Dorland JL, Hartling L, Pickett W. J. Rural Health 2003; 19(3): 285-291.

Affiliation

Center for Health Services and Policy Research, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2003, National Rural Health Association, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

12839137

Abstract

CONTEXT: Agricultural injuries are an important and understudied category of occupational injuries. PURPOSE: This study estimated the economic burden of agricultural machinery injuries that occurred in Ontario, Canada's largest province, between 1985 and 1996. METHODS: Conventional methodology for estimating economic burden, as embodied in a computer program previously developed for this purpose, was applied to hospitalized, nonhospitalized, and fatal agricultural machinery injuries. FINDINGS: The total economic burden of these injuries over the 12-year study period was estimated to be 228.1 million dollars, or 19.0 million dollars annually (1995 Canadian dollars, 3.0% discount rate). By extrapolation, the economic burden of all farm injuries in Canada is estimated to be between 200 and 300 million dollars annually. CONCLUSIONS: Costing information about agricultural injuries provides support for the prioritization and development of injury-control initiatives.

Language: en