Citation

Morgan SE, Cole HP, Struttmann T, Piercy L. J. Agric. Saf. Health 2002; 8(2): 225-239.

Affiliation

School of Communication, Information, and Library Studies, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901-1071, USA. semorgan@scils.rutgers.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2002, American Society of Agricultural Engineers)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

12046808

Abstract

Farming is the second most hazardous occupation in the U.S. The high mortality rate is due in large part to farm equipment hazards, particularly tractor overturns. Injuries and deaths associated with tractor overturns could be prevented with the use of a rollover protective structure (ROPS). In spite of the known dangers associated with overturn incidents, farmers are reluctant to retrofit ROPS on older tractors. Few agricultural safety campaigns target the issue of ROPS retrofits, and none have been evaluated systematically. This article reports a study that examines a set of messages that were central to the Community Partners for Healthy Farming project. This study indicates that narrative-based messages and messages incorporating fear appeals are more favorably evaluated by farmers than messages that simply inform farmers or messages that rely on statistics.