This website is being reviewed for updates. Some information is offline. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Occupational health and safety

Safety Guidelines for Youth Operating Farm Equipment
Report highlights safety measures for youth ages 15-17 operating farm equipment. Details information on farm equipment hazards and risks for young workers, as well as federal and state regulations. Presents guidelines for the safe use of various forms of farm equipment by young workers.
Date: 10/2020
Sponsoring organization: National Children's Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety
view details
Coronavirus Pandemic Highlights Critical Gaps in Rural Internet Access for Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers: A Call for Partnership with Medical Libraries
Highlights the challenges of reaching migrant and seasonal farmworkers with public health information during the COVID-19 pandemic. Discuses migrants' lack of broadband internet as an inhibitor to migrants' ability to access both healthcare and public health information.
Author(s): Joseph G. L. Lee, Catherine E. LePrevost, Emery L. Harwell, et al.
Citation: Journal of the Medical Library Association, 108(4), 651-655
Date: 10/2020
view details
A Look at Workplace Safety in Agriculture
Data brief illustrates workplace injuries, illnesses, and fatalities in agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting jobs in 2018. Breaks down data by event or exposure, such as falls, slips, trips, contact with objects and equipment, and exposure to harmful substances or environments, among others.
Citation: The Economics Daily
Date: 09/2020
Sponsoring organization: Bureau of Labor Statistics
view details
Dicamba Use and Cancer Incidence in the Agricultural Health Study: An Updated Analysis
Highlights a study on the connection between colon and lung cancers in farmers and farmworkers and use of the herbicide dicamba. Draws data from the Agricultural Health Study and breaks it down by age, crops/animals produced, and other pesticides used, among other measures.
Author(s): Catherine C Lerro, Jonathan N Hofmann, Gabriella Andreotti, et al.
Citation: International Journal of Epidemiology, 49(4), 1326-1337
Date: 08/2020
view details
Mental Health in Rural America
Discusses mental health issues among farmers and ranchers. Highlights some of the stressors for farmers and farm families, as well as strategies and resources to help cope with farm-related stress.
Date: 08/2020
Sponsoring organization: American Farm Bureau
view details
Risk for Coccidioidomycosis among Hispanic Farm Workers, California, USA, 2018
Study of occupational risk factors for coccidioidomycosis (a pulmonary and systemic infection also known as Valley fever or San Joaquin Valley Fever) among Hispanic farmworkers in California. Describes the illness and analyzes data collected between June 2016 - August 2018 from patients who received serologic testing for coccidioidomycosis and questionnaire responses from 203 participants representing demographics, health history, and agricultural work history including dust exposure and work hours.
Author(s): Stephen A. McCurdy, Catherine Portillo-Silva, Carol L. Sipan, Heejung Bang, Kirt W. Emery
Citation: Emerging Infectious Diseases, 26(7), 1430-1437
Date: 07/2020
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
view details
Rural Healthcare Surge Readiness
Resources for rural healthcare systems preparing for and responding to a COVID-19 surge. Includes resources for emergency medical services, inpatient and hospital care, ambulatory care, and long-term care settings. Addresses a wide range of topics including healthcare operations, space, supplies, funding, and more.
Date: 07/2020
Sponsoring organization: COVID-19 Healthcare Resilience Working Group
view details
Update: COVID-19 Among Workers in Meat and Poultry Processing Facilities ― United States, April-May 2020
Provides data from 28 states on the number of meat and poultry processing facilities affected by COVID-19, characteristics of affected workers, and COVID-19–associated deaths among workers. Data on cases and deaths through May 31, 2020 were obtained from 239 affected facilities. Also describes interventions and prevention efforts at these facilities.
Author(s): Michelle A. Waltenburg, Tristan Victoroff, Charles E. Rose, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 69(27), 887-892
Date: 07/2020
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
view details
Community-based Program to Increase Use of Hearing Conservation Practices among Farm and Rural Youth: A Cluster Randomized Trial of Effectiveness
Examines the effectiveness of two interventions regarding knowledge and attitudes toward hearing conservation among farm and rural youth. Discusses the prevalence of hearing loss among farmworkers and the risks of exposure to farm noise from an early age.
Author(s): Marjorie C. McCullagh, James J. Yang, Michael A. Cohen
Citation: BMC Public Health, 20(1), 847
Date: 06/2020
view details
Trends in Pneumoconiosis Deaths — United States, 1999–2018
Examines deaths due to pneumoconioses, preventable occupational lung diseases caused by inhaling dust particles such as coal or mineral dust. Includes data by type of disease and by state, as well as data for the top industries and occupations associated with pneumoconiosis deaths, including mining.
Author(s): Jessica L. Bell, Jacek M. Mazurek
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 69(23), 693-698
Date: 06/2020
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
view details