Talking with peers about safety could save lives

Study shows farmers' awareness about safety issue increased in group discussions

It’s good to talk, as the saying goes — but when it comes to farm safety, simply sitting down and discussing the issue with other farmers can even potentially save lives, according to the latest research.

The nationwide joint study funded by Teagasc and the Health Safety Authority has shown that establishing discussion groups where farmers can discuss safety procedures with their peers, is significantly more effective than simply providing farmers with information on the topic.

In fact, studies show that simply providing guidelines is no guarantee that farmers will adopt the recommended procedures — just over half of those surveyed implemented the safety measures outlined in a legal risk assessment document. 

A significant 45% did not, even though they knew what needed to be done.

However, the findings of a four-year study,Promoting Farm Health and Safety Through Discussion Groups, which examined the potential for discussion groups to encourage farmers to implement safety procedures, found that such groups can have a very positive outcome.

Some 1,180 farmers and 28 farm advisers in several counties including Cork, Limerick, Tipperary, Waterford, Mayo, Louth and Offaly took part in groups made up of between 15 and 20 people meeting on a monthly basis to exchange information and ideas on current farm management issues.

Before the intervention, the study shows, 96% of farmers considered themselves safe but following membership of a discussion group on the issue, researchers estimated that 82 % revealed that they intended to increase their safety practices, indicating self-awareness about safety shortcomings.

Much of this is down to peer support, said John McNamara, health and safety specialist adviser with Teagasc and adjunct associate Professor at UCD:

We are all strongly influenced by people we respect, such as fellow discussion group members.

"We found that discussion groups are a way to improve farm safety implementation effectively,” he said.

“We are all very influenced to ‘do things’ by people around us whose views we respect,” Mr McNamara said.

He added that research had shown that Irish people are more strongly influenced by peers than in other countries.

The findings are published in the latest edition of Teagasc’s TResearch journal.

Although research by Teagasc on the effectiveness of such groups in terms of different issues has been ongoing for the last decade — it found, for example, that farmers in discussion groups had greater uptake of farm developments — this latest study, which Prof McNamara co-authored with Teagasc Walsh Scholar Tracey O’Connor, is the first to investigate the effectiveness of such groups for better implementation of farm health and safety.

“This study shows an effective way to encourage the adoption of health and safety procedures among farmers who are largely their ‘own bosses’.”

The study also indicated that it was best to take a specific safety item at regular meetings and deal with this for a short period of between 20 and 30 minutes rather than seeking to cover everything in one go.