Conveying Safety Messages on Agricultural Machinery: The Comprehension of Safety Pictorials in a Group of Migrant Farmworkers in Italy

Giorgia Bagagiolo, Lucia Vigoroso, Federica Caffaro, Margherita Micheletti Cremasco and Eugenio Cavallo
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Giorgia Bagagiolo: Institute for Agricultural and Earthmoving Machines (IMAMOTER), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), 10135 Torino, Italy
Lucia Vigoroso: Institute for Agricultural and Earthmoving Machines (IMAMOTER), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), 10135 Torino, Italy
Federica Caffaro: Institute for Agricultural and Earthmoving Machines (IMAMOTER), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), 10135 Torino, Italy
Margherita Micheletti Cremasco: Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Torino, 10123 Torino, Italy
Eugenio Cavallo: Institute for Agricultural and Earthmoving Machines (IMAMOTER), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), 10135 Torino, Italy

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 21, 1-13

Abstract: The comprehension of safety signs affixed to agricultural machinery is fundamental to warning users about the residual risks which cannot be eliminated with machinery design and the adoption of protections. This is particularly relevant for the migrant workforce, which may encounter some language barriers with written safety communication. The present study aimed to investigate the comprehension of safety signs affixed to agricultural machinery in a group of migrants from both European and non-European countries employed in Italian agriculture. Thirty-seven migrant farmworkers (12 Indians, 17 Pakistanis, and eight Romanians) were individually interviewed to test the comprehension of four safety signs referring to the main causes of fatal and non-fatal injuries caused by interactions with farm machinery. Romanians obtained the highest comprehension performance (68.8% of correct answers), followed by Indians (35.4%), with Pakistanis being last (32.4%). The nationality and the previous experience as a farmworker significantly affected the comprehension of safety signs. The results pointed out the importance of adequately training migrants on the meaning of safety signs. Beside this, the study suggests a redesign of the signs, considering some signs’ features to enhance pictorials’ cross-cultural comprehension.

Keywords: agricultural accidents; migrant workforce; occupational safety; risk communication; pictorials (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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