Baseline Childhood Farm Safety Data for Indiana

A survey of Indiana farm homes was conducted in the winter of 1994-1995 toestablish realistic baselines concerning child safety practices for populations in ruralIndiana for the purpose of: (1) adjusting interventions to target specific issues whereprevention efforts are most needed; and (2) evaluating the effectiveness of safety effortstargeting rural Indiana families. A questionnaire was designed to obtain baselineinformation for child safety practices on Indiana farms, and a stratified random sampleof 1,500 Indiana farms (arrayed by county) was selected from a population consisting ofall 60,000 Indiana farms. Survey procedures involved two mailings, and phone interviewswith non-respondents, which yielded 597 usable questionnaires. Survey responses indicate that on Indiana farms where children reside or frequentlyvisit, 63% of owner/operators allow children to ride as passengers on tractors and/orcombines, and 36% allow children to operate tractors. Survey responses suggest thatgrandparents are more likely than parents to prohibit potentially dangerous farmactivities (e.g., riding on tractors, combines, and grain transport vehicles, and operatingtractors and ATVs), while parents are more likely to implement strategic safetypractices (e.g., having a fire escape plan, and obtaining CPR/first aid training). Surveyresults also show that Indiana farm families do not meet national goals for the use ofbicycle helmets, child seats/seatbelts, or smoke detectors.