title: Evaluation of the North American Guidelines for Children's Agricultural Tasks using a case series of injuries.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the potential for the North American Guidelines for Children's Agricultural Tasks (NAGCAT) to prevent the occurrence of pediatric farm injuries. This evaluation focuses upon farm injuries experienced when children were engaged in farm work.
  
  
  METHODS
  Novel outcome evaluation involving primary review of three retrospective case series.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fatal, hospitalized, and restricted activity injuries from the United States and Canada.
  
  
  METHODS
  Nine hundred and thirty four pediatric farm injury cases.
  
  
  METHODS
  The applicability of NAGCAT to each case was rated. For injuries where NAGCAT were applicable, recurrent injury patterns were described and the potential for NAGCAT to prevent their occurrence was assessed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 283 (30.3%) cases involved children engaged in farm work. There was an applicable NAGCAT guideline in 64.9% of the work related cases. Leading individual guidelines applicable to the injury events were: (1) working with large animals; (2) driving a farm tractor; and (3) farm work with an all-terrain vehicle. In the judgment of the research team, 59.6% of these injuries were totally preventable if the principles espoused by NAGCAT had been applied.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  NAGCAT are a set of consensus guidelines aimed at the prevention of pediatric farm injuries. The findings suggest that NAGCAT, if applied, would be efficacious in preventing many of the most serious injuries experienced by children engaged in farm work. However, work related injuries represent only a modest portion of pediatric farm injuries. This new information assists in the refinement of NAGCAT as an injury control resource and puts its potential efficacy into context.
authors.affiliation: National Children's Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety, Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation, Marshfield, Wisconsin 54449, USA. marlenga.barbara@mcrf.mfldclin.edu
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Marlenga
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Brison
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Berg
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zentner
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Linneman
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Pickett
mesh_terms: D000062:Accidents, Occupational / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D000383:Agriculture / Q000592:standards*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004651:Employment / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009656:North America / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*