Farmers engage in one of the most hazardous occupations in the United States. Between 80,000 and 170,000 disabling injuries are sustained by farmers each year, yet little is known about the process of rehabilitation and reentry to work after an injury (National Safety Council, 1993). Grounded theory methodology was used to identify variables that affected the occupational adaptation process of farmers with upper-extremity amputations. Using a convenience sample, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 farmers in six states. Two nonfarmers and an injured farmer who left farming after injury were interviewed to assess the boundaries of findings. Interviews were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. Visual data were obtained during walking tours of ten farms to augment understanding of equipment modifications and task adjustment. Transcribed interviews were analyzed following the constant comparative method suggested by Glaser (1978).
The data provided an understanding of post-injury adjustment, types of resources used, and the impact of rural culture on recovery and reentry to work. Findings revealed the importance of functioning, blame, cognitive processing, and proving when questioning if the farmer could return to farming. Farmers analyzed their options through the processes of sorting, physical responses, and experimentation. Getting along in their vocation entailed control, accepting limitations, and adaptations. Farmers measured their success through comparisons to self or others. The process of occupational adaptation after injury was centered within the social and physical environment. The cultural characteristics of hard work, the family farm, fundamentalism, and public response all characterized the adaptive process. A conceptual model of occupational rehabilitation, Reed's Theory of Mastering (RTM), was inductively formed from the identified themes. RTM was framed within the agricultural environment and encompassed three key variables: questioning, analyzing, and getting along. Successful reentry to farming described by the theory can aid in development of occupational rehabilitation for injured farmers.
The findings support the importance of formulating post-injury vocational retraining models for farmers that can be delivered by professionals at the farm site. The inclusion of the family in the adaptation process should be examined in future research. Further study is needed to examine the design and function of prosthetic devices for farmers and the possible benefits of workers compensation insurance for individuals in this high risk occupation.
