Ways to improve occupational health and safety for pig farmers

A multidisciplinary CRIPA research team led by Dr. Nancy Beauregard (School of Industrial Relations, Université de Montréal) has analyzed the occupational health and safety of Quebec pork producers.

Curious and proactive producers. The study shows that the majority of pork producers are on the lookout for knowledge that will enable them to better think and act in terms of prevention. This interest is also reflected in the level of investment in occupational health and safety.

Quality assurance and animal welfare programs influence farmers' health. Unsurprisingly, these programs guiding optimal breeding management have an impact on the organization of breeders' work, and subsequently on their health. But above all, this study clearly indicates that these programs would be an additional lever for occupational health and safety prevention. However, this strategy must aim to reduce the work demands (e.g. investments) incidental to the application of the programs, in order to optimize the expected benefits.

Perspective: spouses as positive influencers? Another point is that organizational dynamics in agriculture are still largely centered around family entrepreneurship. The study documents a significant involvement of spouses in the farm business, modulated by the occupation of an additional job outside the farm business. Integrating the spouses' point of view into future studies would therefore make it possible to verify whether the social influence of spouses has a positive impact on the adoption of occupational health and safety behaviours by pig farmers.

For further information: https://www.irsst.qc.ca/actualites/id/3049/sante-et-securite-agricole-le-cas-de-lelevage-porcin

Collaborators: Nancy Beauregard, Alain Marchand, Université de Montréal; Philippe Fravalo, Conservatoire national des arts et métiers; Marie Archambault, Université de Montréal; Pascal Thériault, McGill University; Philippe Roy, Université de Sherbrooke; Heather Burnett, Université Paris Diderot-Paris; Pierre Durand, Université de Montréal

Project funded by :Institut de recherche Robert-Sauvé en santé et en sécurité du travail