Risk factors for injury in rural Iowa: round one of the Keokuk County Rural Health Study.
BACKGROUND
Unintentional injuries represent a major cause of morbidity and mortality in rural communities. This study aimed to determine the distribution of injury risk factors in a rural Iowa community and to identify the rural subgroups at highest risk for injury.


METHODS
We reported on 1583 participants, aged > or =25 years, from Round One of the Keokuk County Rural Health Study, a longitudinal panel study of a rural community. The self-reported data were collected during face-to-face interviews.


RESULTS
Our data suggested that several risk factors for injury are not uniformly distributed among rural populations. Male farmers were significantly less likely to wear their seatbelts than townspeople or rural nonfarmers. However, farm women were as likely to wear seatbelts as other women. Both male and female farmers were more likely to use all-terrain vehicles than townspeople or rural nonfarmers. In contrast, townspeople were more likely to ride bicycles than either farmers or rural nonfarmers. Townspeople were less likely to have firearms in their homes than either farmers or rural nonfarmers. Farmers were most likely to have fired a gun in the last year. Male farmers aged <65 years were less than half as likely as other men the same age to report a history of alcohol abuse. Binge drinking was equally frequent among farmers, rural nonfarmers, and townspeople.


CONCLUSIONS
These differences in risk behavior in a rural county suggest the possibility of targeting specific rural injury prevention interventions at those with the highest risk for dangerous behavior.
Zwerling
C
C
Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, The University of Iowa, College of Public Health, Iowa City, Iowa 52242-5000, USA. craig-swerling@uiowa.edu
Merchant
J A
JA
Nordstrom
D L
DL
Stromquist
A M
AM
Burmeister
L F
LF
Reynolds
S J
SJ
Kelly
K M
KM
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007484:Iowa / Q000453:epidemiology; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012306:Risk; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*