Counting Farm Injuries and Fatalities: An Assessment of Irish Occupational Health and Safety Surveillance Data Systems

Figures & data

Table 1. Farm fatality dataset (HSA).

Variable	Categories/Classes
Age	Years of age
Gender	Male; Female
Date	dd/mm/yyyy
Time of day	hh:mm
Nearest Town	Name
County	Name of county
Main farm enterprise	Dairy; Beef; Sheep; Tillage and Crops; Mixed livestock and crops; Other/Unknown
Victim	Farm Holder/Operator; Family member; Employee; Bystander
Location of incident	Farm building; Farm Yard; Field; Public road; Other
Cause	Vehicles; Cattle; Fall; Machinery; Load; Drowning; Electrocution; Gas poisoning/ asphyxiation; Burial; Trench collapse; Other.
If Tractor	Age of tractor in years
If Vehicles	Tractor; Loader/telehandler; Quad; Excavator; Trailer; Combine harvester; Potato harvester; SUV/Jeep; Tipper truck
If Cattle	Attacked (Cow with calf; Bull; Multiple cattle; Other); Knocked over by cattle; Other
If Fall	Through/from roof; from vehicle; from cliff/mountain; from ladder; from bales; Other.
If Machinery	Air-operated gate; Diet feeder; Slurry agitator; Bale wrapper; Baler; Fertiliser spreader; Hedge cutter; Mower; Plough; Potato conveyor belt; Swather; Topper; Trailer; Water hose; Wood chipper
If Loads	Bales; Trailer or vehicle; Metal door; Other

Table 2. Self-reported (mandatory) farm injury dataset – HSA.

Variable	Categories/Classes
Age	Years of age
Gender	Male; Female
Geographic region of incident	Border; South-East; West; South-West; Mid-West; Midlands; Mid-East; Dublin
Nationality	Irish; non-Irish.
Economic Sector	Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing; Construction; Public Administration and Defence, Compulsory Social Security; Accommodation and Food Service Activities; Education; Industry; Transportation and Storage; Wholesale and Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles and Motorcycles
Employment Status	Employee, Non-worker, Self-employed, Trainee, Family worker, Unknown
Number of days absent from work	Days (Number 4+)
Injured body part	Head; Shoulder; Arm; Hand; Fingers; Back; Leg; Ankle
Working environment	Industrial or maintenance areas (includes farms); Hospital, other healthcare; Shop, service activity area; Roads and on board transport; Construction site
Causes	Manual handling (internal injury); Slipping, falling; Loss of control of object, machine, vehicle; Aggression, shock, violence; Body movement leads to cut, bruise (external injury); Breakage or collapse of object;Overflow of gas or liquid, splashing; Electrical contact, explosions or fire.
Mode of injury	Impact from fall; Struck by moving or transported object, including vehicles; Struck by falling object; Trapped, crushed – in; Trapped, crushed – under; Struck by flying object; Enveloped in gas; Drowned in liquid; Trapped, crushed – between.

Table 3. Labour force survey: occupational (farm) injury dataset – CSO.

Variable	Categories/Classes
Age	15–24; 25–34; 35–44; 45–54; 55–64; 65+
Gender	Male; Female
Geographic region of incident	Mid-West; Midlands; South-East; South-West; Mid-East; West; Dublin; Border
Occupation	Craft and related; Professional; Plant and machine operatives; Personal and protective service; Managers and administrators; Sales; Elementary occupations; Associate professional and technical; Clerical and secretarial
Economic Sector	Transportation & Storage; Human Health & Social Work Activities; Construction; Wholesale & Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles & Motorcycles; Industry; Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing; Education; Public Administration & Defence, Compulsory Social Security; Other; Professional, Scientific & Technical Activities; Accommodation & Food Service Activities; Administrative & Support Service Activities; Financial, Insurance & Real Estate Activities; Information & Communication
Days absent from work	Number of days (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.)
Issue	Injury; Illness
Injuries	Poisoning, infection, asphyxiation or other related injuries; Amputation, concussion, internal injury, burn, scald or frost bite; Dislocation, sprain or strain; Bone fracture; Wound or superficial injury
Illnesses	Hearing problem, headache, eyestrain, heart problem or disease; Bone, joint or muscle problem; Skin problem, other complaints; Stress, depression or anxiety; Breathing or lung problem

Table 4. Farm injury dataset¹ – Teagasc national farm survey.

Variable	Categories/Classes
Age	Year of age
Gender	Male; Female
Geographic region of farm	North & West; East & Midlands; South
Primary Farm System	Dairy; Cattle Rearing; Cattle Other; Sheep; Tillage; Mixed Livestock
Off-farm employment	Yes; No
Person injured	Farm operator; Spouse; Family Member; Worker; Other
Cause of Injury	Farm vehicle/machinery; Livestock; Trip/Fall; Chainsaw/Wood; Buildings; Other.
Accident Location	Farmyard; Fields; Farm Buildings; Workshop; Farm Roads/Lanes; Forest/Wood
Medical Attention Required	None; First Aid; Doctor; Hospital; Fatality
Work Time Lost	0 Days; 1–3 Days; 4–10 Days; 11–30 days; 31–60 days; 61 days plus
Completed Safety Statement or Code of Practice Risk Assessment	Yes; No
Improved health and safety on your farm over the last five years	Yes; No
Attended health and safety training	Yes; No

1. All listed variables can be linked with a large number of core NFS variables, including financial and technical performance indicators.

Table 5. Evaluation of OHS data system in Ireland.

	Fatal Injuries	Non-fatal Injuries
	HSA	HSA	CSO	Teagasc
Time series	Annual
Geographic coverage
National	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Region	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
County	Yes	No	Yes	No
Local	Yes	No	No	No
Population/Sample	Full census	120 reports	391 responses (Unknown number of farmers)	795 (7.5% reporting an injury)
Socio-demographic characteristics
Age	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Gender	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Nationality	Yes	Yes	No	No
Type of Farm Enterprise	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Work arrangements
Self-employed	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Employed	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Family Worker	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Bystander	Yes	Yes	No	No
Worksites
Farm	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Farmyard	Yes	No	No	Yes
Fields	Yes	No	No	Yes
Farm Buildings	Yes	No	No	Yes
Workshop	No	No	No	Yes
Farm Roads/Lanes	No	No	No	Yes
Forest/Wood	No	No	No	Yes
Public road	Yes	No	No	No
Other	Yes	No	No	No
Cause/Trigger
Injury	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Illness	No	No	Yes	No
Impact
Position of injury	No	Yes	No	No
Workdays lost
<4	NA	No	Yes	Yes
>4	NA	Yes	Yes	Yes
Medical treatment	NA	No	No	Yes
Long-term economic and social costs	No	No	No	No