title: Gender differences in pesticide use knowledge, risk awareness and practices in Chinese farmers.
abstract: This study investigates gender differences in the pesticide use knowledge, risk awareness and practices of farmers in Anqiu County, China. A total of 452 male and 178 female farmers from seven towns were interviewed in 2016. The results show that there are gender differences regarding knowledge of pesticide impacts, pesticide use practices and protective behaviors. Male farmers had a better knowledge of pesticide use and greater awareness of associated health risks. More men than women used pesticides and disposed of the pesticide containers correctly, but fewer men applied protective measures or behaviors when using pesticides. Canonical correspondence analysis indicated that participation in farmer professional cooperatives differed by gender and contributed greatly to the protective behaviors of farmers (p<0.05). These results suggest that gender-sensitive educational programs should be implemented to increase the awareness of safety amongst farmers, and protective measures should be encouraged to reduce exposure to pesticide risks in China.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Geographical Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Wenyu
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Geographical Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China. Electronic address: jjjin@bnu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jianjun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Geographical Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Geographical Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Haozhou
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gong
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000383:Agriculture; D002681:China; D000067565:Farmers; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D010575:Pesticides / Q000009:adverse effects*; D012727:Sex Characteristics
chemical_list: D010575:Pesticides
keywords: Behavior; China; Farmer; Gender; Knowledge; Pesticide use