Evaluation of safety culture in agriculture

Agriculture is one of the most hazardous occupational sectors, with a high prevalence of occupational injuries and work-related health problems. Most of these problems are caused by the interplay of human behavior and ergonomic factors, and are thus preventable. Interventions to prevent occupational injuries and diseases among agricultural workers should aim to change risk behaviors and conditions by addressing the determinants of unsafe or unhealthy behavior. To that effect, an evidence based prevention approach can be adopted, consisting of four steps: (1) identify behavioral risk factors; (2) identify the cognitive, motivational and environmental determinants of these risk behaviors based on psychological models; (3) develop and test interventions to influence health related behavior; and (4) investigate the conditions for successful implementation of these preventive interventions. In the presentation, the application of this approach to promoting farmers’ health and safety will be illustrated by referring to the COST Action SACURIMA (Safety Culture and Risk Management in Agriculture). This international, European-wide action draws on psychological theory to identify and measure the main individual and contextual determinants of farmers’ safety behavior (i.e., knowledge, attitudes, perceived risks, perceived norms, safety culture, and cues to action) in an international comparative survey that can serve for benchmarking national performance. The implications for panning and evaluating policies and interventions to enhance safety among farmers will be discussed