Hospitalized head and spine injuries on Saskatchewan farms

Introduction: With over 44,000 individual farms, farm dwellers account for 11% of the population of Saskatchewan. There is limited data on brain and spine injuries acquired on farms. The objective of this study was to evaluate the epidemiology of head and spine injuries on Saskatchewan farms to assist the development of injury prevention initiatives. Methods: Using the Canadian Centre for Agricultural Health and Safety's Saskatchewan Farm Injury Surveillance Database, farm-related head and spine injuries hospitalized >24 hours were examined (1990-2007). We collected information regarding the type and mechanism of injury as well as the geographic location of both the injury and treatment. Results: The database captured 390 brain injuries and 228 spine injuries, including 16 spinal cord injuries. The majority of patients were male (73.3% of head injuries and 84.2% of spine injuries). The highest risk age groups were 50-59 years, with 24.1% of the spine injuries, and 40-49 years, with 19.2% of the head injuries. The most common causes of injury were falls and/or machinery-related. The average annual incidence of farm-related spine and head injury were 10.8 and 17.6 per 100,000 farm population, respectively. All patients included in this study were hospitalized for over 24 hours, with 44.7% of spine injuries spending over one week in hospital, and 20% of head injuries spending over three days in hospital. Conclusions: Injury prevention initiatives should be targeted towards males aged 40-59 years residing in the southern areas of the province, with increased awareness towards the dangers of falls and operating tractors. COPYRIGHT