Facilitating the return-to-work of injured and ill farm workers: An online decoder for clinicians

Large animal farms in the Midwest are becoming larger, increasing in work task specialization and hiring more immigrant labor. Workers not only face risks inherent in the agricultural workplace but are also introduced to significant dangers in mega-herd operations. Injuries in pork and dairy farms are common and are increasingly managed by primary care physicians. Yet, clinicians are often unfamiliar with the physical demands of farming and have little training and resources to manage the return-to-work of injured workers.

This project is developing an online computer application designed for clinicians to guide early return to work planning for injured workers in the dairy and pork industries. The application has several components: functional job profiles, return-to-work sheets and a visual communication tool for limited-English proficiency workers. Functional job profiles consist of hazards and physical demands for common tasks on the farm with built-in algorithms to produce alternative light duty job assemblies within the injured worker’s limitations. Return-to-work sheets will replace the present form and will be customized for farmers, workers, clinicians and therapists. Limited-English proficiency workers will be able to communicate with clinicians through images of tasks optimized for handheld devices to identify their duties on the farm.

This project addresses an unmet need in agricultural health and safety, that of connecting the clinician to the farm to reduce disability and sustain an adequate, safe workforce for the growing agriculture industry. This project is one of a series of safety initiatives funded by the Upper Midwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center.