Emergency presentations for farm-related injuries in older adults residing in south-western Victoria, Australia

Abstract

Introduction: Farm workers are at high risk for injuries, and epidemiological data are needed to plan resource allocation.Objective: This study identified regions with high farm- related injury rates in the Barwon South West region of Victoria, Australia, for residents aged ≥50 yr.Design: Retrospective synthesis using electronic medical records of emergency presentations occurring during 2017–2019 inclusive for Local Government Areas (LGA) in the study region. For each LGA, age- standardised incidence rates (per 1000 population/year) were calculated.Findings: For men and women combined, there were 31 218 emergency pres-entations for any injury, and 1150 (3.68%) of these were farm- related. The over-all age- standardised rate for farm- related injury presentations was 2.6 (95% CI 2.4–2.7); men had a higher rate than women (4.1, 95% CI 3.9–4.4 versus 1.2, 95% CI 1.0–1.3, respectively). For individual LGAs, the highest rates of farm- related emergency presentations occurred in Moyne and Southern Grampians, both rural LGAs. Approximately two- thirds of farm- related injuries occurred during work activities (65.0%), and most individuals arrived at the hospital by transport classified as “other” (including private car, 83.3%). There were also several com-mon injury causes identified: “other animal related injury” (20.2%), “cutting, piercing object” (19.5%), “fall ⟨1 m” (13.1%), and “struck by or collision with ob-ject” (12.5%). Few injuries were caused by machinery (1.7%) and these occurred mainly in the LGA of Moyne (65%).Discussion and Conclusion: This study provides data to inform future research and resource allocation for the prevention of farm- related injuries.