Introduction: The NIOSH Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP) conducts independent investigations of selected fire fighter line-of-duty deaths (LODD) and offers recommendations to prevent similar deaths. The purpose of the current study was to provide information on more recent FFFIPP recommendations and to determine if recommendations have changed over time. Methods: Fatality investigations completed from 2006 to 2014 were selected for this study with recommendations being assigned into twelve major categories when possible. The most frequently occurring recommendations were then rank ordered overall and then by medical and traumatic fire fighter LODD. Results: There were 1,067 total recommendations made in the published fire fighter investigative reports for both medical and trauma-related fire fighter fatalities for the period 2006-2014. Of these, 784 (73%) could be placed within one of the 12 categories noted previously. The top 10 recommendation categories overall were: 1. Medical screening, 2. Fitness and wellness program, 3. Training, 4. Medical clearance, 5. Standard Operating Procedures/Standard Operating Guidelines (SOPs/SOGs), 6. Incident command, 7. Strategy and tactics, 8. Communications, 9. Personal protective equipment and 10. Staffing. Conclusions: The leading recommendations from the NIOSH FFFIPP medical investigations between 2006 and 2014 did not change compared to those made between 1998 and 2005, with the exception of the addition of "medical clearance for duty". There were changes for the traumatic injury leading recommendations for 2006-2014, with the major change being "training", which was the leading FFFIPP recommendation for traumatic injuries for this time period. Practical applications: The intent of the FFFIPP is to influence fire departments and fire fighters to critically assess and evaluate situations/circumstances similar to those identified by NIOSH investigations and implement the recommendations offered to prevent additional fire fighter fatalities. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Translation research in occupational safety and health is the application of scientific investigative approaches to study how the outputs of basic and applied research can be effectively translated into practice and have an impact. This includes the study of the ways in which useful knowledge and interventions are disseminated, adopted, implemented, and institutionalized. In this paper, a 4-stage framework (Development, Testing, Institutionalization, and Evaluation) is presented. Translation research can be used to enhance the use and impact of occupational safety and health knowledge and interventions to protect workers. This type of research has not received much attention in the occupational safety and health field. However, in contemporary society, it is critical to know how to make an impact with the findings and outputs of basic and applied research. This paper provides a novel framework for consideration of how to advance and prioritize translation research for occupational safety and health.

See Related Article p. 255 Agriculture has consistently been identified as one of the most dangerous industries. In recent years, it has had the highest work-related fatality rate and ranks in the top three industries for the greatest number of work-related fatalities [1Bureau of Labor Statistics. Census of fatal occupational injuries: Number and rate of fatal occupational injuries, by industry sector, 2012. Available at: http://www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/cfoi/cfch0011.pdf. Accessed November 4, 2013.Google Scholar, 2Bureau of Labor Statistics. Census of fatal occupational injuries: Number and rate of fatal occupational injuries, by industry sector, 2011. Available at: http://www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/cfoi/cfch0011.pdf. Accessed November 4, 2013.Google Scholar, 3Bureau of Labor Statistics. Census of fatal occupational injuries: Number and rate of fatal occupational injuries, by industry sector, 2010. Available at: http://www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/cfoi/cfch0009.pdf. Accessed November 4, 2013.Google Scholar, 4Bureau of Labor Statistics. Census of fatal occupational injuries: Number and rate of fatal occupational injuries, by industry sector, 2009. Available at: http://www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/cfoi/cfch0008.pdf. Accessed November 4, 2013.Google Scholar]. Production agriculture is the industry subsector that is most closely affiliated with the occupation of farming. Because of the role of farms as both a home and a workplace, along with the nature of work done on farms, youth are exposed to many unique hazards. This is often further impacted by the rural location, which can delay prompt medical response and emergency assistance. The problem of children being injured while living on, visiting, or working on farms has been recognized for several decades [5Tevis C. Finck C. We kill too many farm kids.Successful Farming. 1989; 87 (18a–18p)Google Scholar, 6Lowery D.G. Dorman-Hickson N. America's deadly harvest.Progressive Farmer. 1990; 105: 25-31Google Scholar]. Data suggest that about 115 youths under age 20 years die on farms each year, and an estimated 15,876 farm-related injuries (where injury is defined as any condition occurring on the farm operation resulting in at least 4 hours of restricted activity) occur to the same age group. Machinery is the primary source of fatalities; tractors are the single largest identifiable source of fatalities within this category. Fatality rates for young workers in agriculture production were found to be over 3.5 times higher than rates for young workers in all other industries [7Goldcamp M. Hendricks K.J. Myers J.R. Farm fatalities to youth 1995–2000: a comparison by age groups.J Saf Res. 2004; 35: 151-157Crossref PubMed Scopus (61) Google Scholar, 8Hard D.L. Myers J.R. Fatal work-related injuries in the agriculture production sector among youth in the United States, 1992–2002.J Agromedicine. 2006; 11: 57-65Crossref PubMed Scopus (64) Google Scholar]. Youth who live on, visit, or work on farms are at increased risk of injury or death owing to hazards that are present in the work environment. In 2012, the National Consumers League listed working in agriculture as one of the five most dangerous summer jobs for teens in the United States; this has been true for at least the past 5 years [[9]National Consumers League. Teens: Avoid this year's most dangerous summer work. Available at: http://www.nclnet.org/worker-rights/54-teen-jobs/508-teens-avoid-this-years-most-dangerous-summer-work. Accessed November 4, 2013.Google Scholar]. These facts are in stark contrast to what many people perceive to be life on the farm for kids: an idyllic life on the farm with children helping their parents, learning the trade of farming, being free to roam the farm, developing a work ethic, and becoming solid citizens. Although many of these things can and do occur, the fact remains that the farm is a workplace where children are exposed to hazards. In fiscal year 1997, Congress appropriated funding to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to implement a national Childhood Agricultural Injury Prevention Initiative (CAIPI). The CAIPI consists of three major components: (1) surveillance, (2) research, and (3) information dissemination/research translation. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health uses the United States Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service infrastructure to collect youth farm injury data for surveillance of youth agricultural injuries and targeting research and intervention efforts. The research effort is accomplished through the NIOSH extramural grants program and targeted extramural Request for Assistance announcements under the Childhood Agricultural Safety and Health Research Initiative. Information transfer/research translation activities disseminate surveillance findings and research results to stakeholders and end users through an extramurally funded National Children's Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety (http://www.marshfieldclinic.org/nccrahs), a dedicated topic page on the NIOSH Web site for childhood agricultural injury prevention (http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/childag), and NIOSH publications and manuscripts in technical journals. From 1997 to 2011, the NIOSH CAIPI research component funded 35 research grants, which resulted in 117 publications and 32 published abstracts. For calendar year 1998, a United States Department of Agriculture/NIOSH survey estimated that 37,774 youths under age 20 years who lived on, worked on, or visited farms were injured [[10]National Children's Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety. Fact sheet: Childhood agricultural injuries in the U.S. Available at: http://www3.marshfieldclinic.org/proxy/MCRF-Centers-NFMC-NCCRAHS-ChildAgInjuryFactSheet_April-2012.1.pdf. Accessed May 17, 2012.Google Scholar]. In 2009, the number of injuries had declined to 15,876, a 58% reduction. Injury rates declined 57%, from a rate of 16.6/1,000 farms to 7.2/1,000 farms. For household youths living on farms, the rate of injuries declined by 60% (from 18.8 injuries/1,000 household youths to 7.5/1,000 household youths) [[11]United States Department of Agriculture/National Agricultural Statistics Service. Agricultural safety: 2009 injuries to youth on farms. Available at: http://usda01.library.cornell.edu/usda/current/ChilInju/ChilInju-04-05-2012_revision.pdf. Accessed November 21, 2013.Google Scholar]. In the current issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health, Jinnah and Stoneman’s [[12]Jinnah H.A. Stoneman Z. Involving fathers in teaching youth about farm tractor seatbelt safety—A randomized control design.J Adolesc Health. 2014; 54: 255-261Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (21) Google Scholar] original research supports the important role that fathers may have as teachers and role models for youth working safely on family farms. In addition, the study provides evidence that farm fathers may change their own safety behaviors to protect their children. A national program such as the NIOSH CAIPI can be helpful in supporting, developing, and identifying prevention programs to address hazardous work for children on farms. The article by Jinnah and Stoneman [[12]Jinnah H.A. Stoneman Z. Involving fathers in teaching youth about farm tractor seatbelt safety—A randomized control design.J Adolesc Health. 2014; 54: 255-261Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (21) Google Scholar] is one example of an educational program that holds promise and could be replicated to determine whether the results are transferable and generalizable to a larger audience. The NIOSH CAIPI is finalizing a 15-year summary of research grants funded by NIOSH, which is expected to be available on the NIOSH Web site in the first half of 2014. This document provides additional examples of educational and youth injury prevention projects that could be useful to implement and replicate. Progress has been made in reducing both the number and rate of childhood agricultural injuries, but they remain too high. There is still work to be done on this important and complex problem. Involving Fathers in Teaching Youth About Farm Tractor Seatbelt Safety—A Randomized Control StudyJournal of Adolescent HealthVol. 54Issue 3PreviewFarm youth continue to experience high rates of injury and deaths as a result of agricultural activities. Farm machinery, especially tractors, is the most common cause of casualties to youth. A Roll-Over Protection Structure (ROPS) along with a fastened seatbelt can prevent almost all injuries and fatalities from tractor overturns. Despite this knowledge, the use of seatbelts by farmers on ROPS tractors remains low. This study treats farm safety as a family issue and builds on the central role of parents as teachers and role models of farm safety for youth. Full-Text PDF

OBJECTIVE:To determine prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) among poultry processing employees while taking into account non-occupational factors and assess any association between CTS prevalence and exposure groups. METHODS:Performed a cross-sectional survey to assess CTS (n = 318). A CTS case was defined as an employee with self-reported CTS symptoms, an abnormal hand symptom diagram, and an abnormal nerve conduction study (NCS). Log-binomial regression was used to estimate prevalence ratios. RESULTS:Three hundred and one participants had sufficient symptom information or NCS data to be classified. 126 (42%) of 301 participants had evidence of CTS. In the adjusted analysis, the highest exposure group had CTS prevalence that was significantly higher than that for the lower exposure group [PR: 1.61; 95% CI = (1.20, 2.17)]. CONCLUSIONS:Increasing levels of hand activity and force were associated with increased CTS prevalence among participants. Recommendations were provided to reduce exposure to these risk factors.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has been the lead federal agency of the national Childhood Agricultural Injury Prevention Initiative (CAIPI) since the program's inception in 1996 and in this role, collaborated with numerous partners in childhood agricultural injury prevention activities. This collaboration has likely helped achieve the current reduction in childhood agricultural injury. The paper looks at existing groups with past and current childhood agricultural injury prevention activities for partnering strategies that could contribute to reducing the morbidity and mortality of childhood agricultural injuries. Based upon the review, suggestions are made for future partnering strategies to continue progress in this area.

Youth working on farms face unique risks that are not present for many other young workers, including machinery, large animals, electrical hazards, chemical hazards and excessive noise. This research identified the number and rate of occupational fatalities for youth working in the agriculture production industry, which is most closely affiliated with farming, for the years 1992-2002. The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), developed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), was the database used for the analysis. There were 310 work-related deaths to youth less than 20 years of age from 1992 through 2002 in the agriculture production sector. This compares to 1,958 total fatalities for all workers less than 20 years of age for the same time period. The number of agricultural production fatalities to youth has shown a general downward trend over this time period. The rates were higher for young workers in agriculture production than for young workers in all industries by a factor of 3.6. Fifteen year olds had the highest fatality rates with the crop production sector having a rate six times that of all 15 year old workers. The objective of this descriptive research was to identify, prioritize and publicize the risks to children and youth who work on farms in order to provide public health and safety professionals relevant information upon which to base decisions for interventions or other prevention activities for this priority population. This research also has direct applications for farm parents and safety and health professionals who work with the priority population of young agricultural workers.