Barriers and Enabling Factors for Safety Improvements on Farms in Finland

Systematic reviews of agricultural safety and health interventions have shown little evidence of effectiveness. In this study, we used a self-documentation and collaborative interpretation method (cultural probes, n = 9) as well as farm interviews (n = 11) to identify factors affecting the adoption and implementation of safety information. The three main barrier groups found were (1) personal characteristics of the farmer, (2) limited resources to make safety improvements, and (3) the slow incremental evolution of the physical farm environment where old, hazardous environments remain along with new, safer improvements. The enabling factors included good examples or alarming (and thus activating) examples from peers, ease of implementation of the promoted safety measures, and enforcement of regulations. The findings suggest that a user-centered approach could facilitate the development of more effective safety and health interventions. A conceptual model of the safety intervention context created in this study can be used as a framework to examine specific barriers and enabling factors in planning and implementing safety and health interventions.