Risk-Accepting Personality and Personal Protective Equipment Use Within the Agricultural Health Study

ABSTRACT

Pesticide exposures can be reduced by use of personal protective equipment as well as proper mixing and application practices. The authors examined the effects of risk-accepting personality on personal protective equipment (PPE) use and mixing and application practices among private pesticide applicators and their spouses within the Agricultural Health Study (AHS) in Iowa and North Carolina and commercial applicators in Iowa. The AHS follow-up questionnaire included four questions designed to assess attitudes toward risk. Analysis was limited to those who were currently working on a farm or registered as a commercial applicator and indicated current pesticide use (n = 25,166). Respondents who answered three or more questions in the affirmative (private applicators: n = 4160 [21%]; commercial applicators: n = 199 [14%]; spouses: n = 829 [23%]) were classified as having a risk-accepting personality. Logistic regression was used to evaluate specific work practices associated with risk-accepting attitudes. Among private applicators, the likelihood of using any PPE when mixing or loading pesticides was lower among risk-acceptors compared to risk-averse individuals (odds ratio [OR] = 0.72, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.65–0.79). A similar relationship was observed among commercial applicators (OR = 0.77, 95% CI: 0.34–1.77) but not among spouses (OR = 1.09, 95% CI: 0.90–1.33). Among private applicators, risk-acceptors were more likely than the risk-averse to apply pesticides within 50 feet of the home (OR = 1.21, 95% CI: 1.01–1.44), compared to further than ¼ mile. These findings suggest that the decisions to use personal protective equipment and properly handle/apply pesticides may be driven by risk-accepting personality traits.

[Supplementary materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Journal of Agromedicine for the following free supplemental resource: Adjusted odds ratios of PPE use and risk accepting personality traits among participants currently applying pesticides in the Agricultural Health Study (1999–2005)]

Keywords:

• Agricultural Health Study
• personal protective equipment
• pesticide
• risk-accepting behavior

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the intramural research program of the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (Z01-ES049030) and National Cancer Institute (Z01-CP010119).

The authors thank the Iowan field station (University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA) and North Carolinian field station (Battelle Public Health Research Institute, Durham, NC), the staff of the Agricultural Health Study Coordinating Center (Rockville, MD), and the participants in the Agricultural Health Study for their contributions in support of this research.

Notes

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Disclaimer: The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.