Welcome to the North Carolina Agromedicine Institute, a University of North Carolina center located at East Carolina University. Our collaborative partnership which includes the agricultural community, universities, businesses, health care organizations, governmental agencies, and non-governmental organizations is dedicated to identifying and addressing the health and safety risks of farmers, foresters, fishers, their families and communities. We proudly serve the health and safety interests of the agricultural community in North Carolina and our sister southeastern states. Our goal is to reduce injury and illness by conducting research that leads to practical solutions and developing effective educational approaches. Ultimately we want the agricultural workplace, which is often also a home, to be safe and healthy for all.
Agriculture forms the economic, social, and cultural foundation of the contemporary South, which remains a leader in the production of food and fiber for the nation and world. Travelers often see the beauty of the rural landscape, but rarely think about the agricultural work that occurs there, or of all the workers and their families who make available the food we eat and the materials we use. Even more rarely does the public see the injuries, illnesses, and deaths that all too often occur in the agricultural community.
Machine-related injuries are the leading occupational cause of death for agricultural workers in North Carolina. The workers also commonly suffer from muscular and skeletal injuries, accidental chemical exposures, sun and heat-related illness and injury, and animal-transmitted diseases. Agricultural families are more likely to lack health insurance than other North Carolinians and have limited access to affordable health care, especially health care that understands the occupational risks they experience and the demands agriculture places on their time and resources.
Please help yourself to the information provided in these pages and let us know your questions or comments. We would appreciate hearing about the work you are doing and what you can share with our stakeholders.
