Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, 50139 Florence, Italy.
Occupational Medicine School, University of Florence, 50139 Florence, Italy.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Jun 23;17(12):4501. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17124501.
Agriculture is one of the most hazardous economic sectors, and it accounts for many accidents and occupational diseases every year. In Italy, about one-third of injuries involve the upper extremity, with long-term consequences for the workers and economic damage for agricultural companies and farms. This systematic review describes upper limb injuries among farmworkers, especially hand injuries, and highlights the main dangerous risk factors. Literature review included articles published in the major databases (PubMed, Cochrane Library, Scopus), using a combination of some relevant keywords. This online search yielded 951 references; after selection, the authors analyzed 53 articles (3 narrative reviews and 50 original articles). From this analysis, it appears that younger male farmers are mostly involved, especially in the harvesting season. The upper limb and hand are often the body parts that sustain most damage as these are mostly involved in driving tractors or tools. The most frequent type of lesions are open wounds, lacerations, fractures, strains, and overexertion lesions. Sometimes, a distracting element (such as mobile phone use, quarrels, working hours load) is present; poor use of protective devices and lack of safety design in tools can also increase the risk of accidents. For these reasons, in the agricultural sector, a system of health promotion and good practices is needed to promote workers' awareness of the sources of risk, highlight more dangerous situations and apply organizational behavioral measures.
农业是最危险的经济领域之一，每年都会发生许多事故和职业病。在意大利，大约三分之一的伤害涉及上肢，这对工人造成长期后果，并给农业公司和农场造成经济损失。本系统评价描述了农民上肢损伤，特别是手部损伤，并强调了主要的危险风险因素。文献综述包括在主要数据库（PubMed、Cochrane Library、Scopus）中发表的文章，使用了一些相关关键词的组合。这项在线搜索产生了 951 篇参考文献；经过选择，作者分析了 53 篇文章（3 篇叙述性综述和 50 篇原始文章）。从分析中可以看出，年轻的男性农民居多，尤其是在收获季节。上肢和手通常是最容易受伤的部位，因为它们主要用于驾驶拖拉机或工具。最常见的损伤类型是开放性伤口、撕裂伤、骨折、扭伤和过度劳累损伤。有时，存在分散注意力的因素（如使用手机、争吵、工作时间负荷）；防护设备使用不当和工具安全设计缺乏也会增加事故风险。因此，在农业部门，需要建立一个健康促进和良好实践的系统，以提高工人对风险来源的认识，突出更危险的情况，并采取组织行为措施。
