Safety and Injury of US-Certified Organic Crop Producers in the Southwest Region.

Objectives: Literature on occupational risks among organic farmers is scarce. This study explored safety practices and non-fatal injuries among organic producers, and the role of sociodemographic, work, and farm characteristics on safety and injury.

Methods: Cross sectional survey of certified organic crop producers in the Southwest (SW) region of the United States (US).

Addressing Substance Use and Misuse in East Texas: Stakeholder-Driven Needs and Priorities.

Background-This project sought to assess needs, perceived challenges, and priorities regarding substance use disorder (SUD) in East Texas and develop a community-driven research agenda to address those challenges. Methods-Data were gathered through nine focus-group discussions (FGDs) with stakeholders: people living with SUD, families, medical providers, counselors, representatives of community-based organizations, and law enforcement officers. We asked participants how substance use manifests in their communities, which challenges they confronted in coping with substance use and misuse, and in which order their needs should be prioritized.

Agricultural Injury Surveillance Using a Regional Trauma Registry.

Background: The burden of traumatic injury among workers in agriculture is substantial. Surveillance can inform injury prevention efforts to reduce farmworkers' risk. We posited that the regional trauma registry can provide surveillance for agricultural injury requiring trauma-center care.

COVID-19 Prevalence and Prevention Behaviors Among US Certified Organic Producers.

Objective: There is a scarcity of data on the impact of the pandemic in farmers.

Methods: Cross-sectional survey of certified organic producers through a 28-item self-reported paper or electronic survey. Analysis included descriptive statistics, Cronbach α to measure the internal consistency of a six-item prevention scale, and correlation and regression analyses.

Non-Timber Forest Products in the Southeastern United States: Implications for Worker Safety and Health.

Non-timber forest products in the southeastern United States are rich and varied and contribute millions of dollars to the economies of timber producing states. They include medicinals, specialty wood products, floral greens, and edibles. However, little is known about the safety and health outcomes of those workers that harvest non-timber forest products.

Evaluation of Safety Management and Leadership Training Using Mobile Technologies among Logging Supervisors.

Background: Logging is recognized as one of the most dangerous industries in the United States (US), ranking among those with the highest occupational injury and fatality rates. Although logging operations in the Southeastern US have lower rates of injuries and fatalities compared to other regions of the US, due in part to the use of large machinery to fell timber as opposed to chainsaw felling, safety hazards continue to persist. The hazards present in the logging cut sites in which loggers operate may result in worker injury, illness, or fatality.

A qualitative assessment of safe work practices in logging in the southern United States.

Background: The logging industry is recognized as one of the most dangerous professions in the U.S., but little is known about safety management practices on remote logging sites.

Collecting Comparative Data on Farmworker Housing and Health: Recommendations for Collecting Housing and Health Data Across Places and Time.

The substandard nature of the housing in which most farmworkers live has detrimental effects on their health, as well as on their children's health and development. However, little research has directly documented associations between farmworker housing and health; existing research is not always comparable due to differences in design and measurement. Comparative data can help determine actual causal links between housing characteristics and farmworker health and help to evaluate the efficacy of current housing policy.

Organization of work in the agricultural, forestry, and fishing sector in the US southeast: implications for immigrant workers' occupational safety and health.

Background: There is widespread agreement that work organization is an important element of occupational safety and health, but the health effects of many aspects of work organization are likely to vary considerably across different sectors of work and geographies.

Methods: We examined existing employment policies and work organization-related research relevant specifically to immigrant workers in the Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing (AgFF) Sector of the US workforce focusing, when possible, on the southeastern US.

Results: A number of specific aspects of work organization within AgFF subsectors have been described, but most of this literature exists outside the purview of occupational health.