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. 2018 Sep 18;62(9):1147–1158. doi: 10.1093/annweh/wxy081

Table 1.

Characteristics of vegetable farmers comparing motorized backpack sprayers and battery pump backpack sprayers.

Parameter Motorized backpack sprayers (n = 23) Battery pump backpack sprayers (n = 17) P-value
Gender, n (%)
 Male 21 (91.3) 9 (52.9) 0.009*
 Female 2 (8.7) 8 (47.1)
Age, mean (SD) 49.70 (7.39) 51.24 (11.43) 0.528
Education level, n (%)
 Primary school 15 (65.2) 12 (70.6) 0.583
 Secondary school 7 (30.4) 3 (17.7)
 High vocational certificate 1 (4.3) 1 (5.9)
 Bachelor degree or over - 1 (5.9)
Own farmland, n (%) 22 (55) 17 (42.5) 1.000
Level of income sufficiency, n (%)
 Sufficient with savings 9 (39.1) 5 (29.4) 0.875
 Sufficient without savings 8 (34.8) 8 (47.1)
 Not sufficient without debt 1 (4.3) -
 Not sufficient with debt 5 (21.7) 4 (23.5)
Tobacco consumption, n (%)
 Never 15 (65.2) 12 (70.6) 0.520
 Past 1 (4.3) 2 (11.8)
 Current 7 (30.4) 3 (17.6)
Alcohol consumption, n (%)
 Never 6 (26.1) 8 (47.1) 0.480
 Past 2 (8.7) 1 (5.9)
 Current 15 (65.2) 8 (47.1)
Working in agricultural field, mean (range) (years) 20.0 (15.0–35.0) 34.0 (19.5–41.0) 0.096
Using pesticides, mean (range) (years) 20.0 (10.0–35.0) 23.00 (10.50–36.00) 0.941
Process of mixing and spraying alachlor, mean (range)
 Alachlor volume used (l) 0.40 (0.23–0.60) 0.30 (0.15–0.40) 0.088
 Volume sprayed (l) 40.0 (26.0–60.0) 26.0 (17.5–45.0) 0.025*
 Number of tanks sprayed 2.0 (1.5–3.0) 2.0 (1.0–2.0) 0.081
 Duration sprayed (min) 32.0 (27.0–50.0) 29.0 (16.0–50.0) 0.411
 Farm area sprayed (hectare) 0.16 (0.08–0.24) 0.08 (0.05–0.13) 0.047*
Work clothing, n (%)
 Cloth mask 6 (26.1) - -
 Disposable mask - 1 (5.9) -
 Balaclava 17 (73.9) 10 (58.8) 0.314
 Long-sleeve shirt 21 (91.3) 15 (88.2) 1.000
 Short-sleeve shirt 2 (8.7) 2 (11.8) 1.000
 Long pants 17 (73.9) 13 (76.5) 1.000
 Short pants 6 (26.1) 4 (23.5) 1.000
 Goggles 1 (4.3) - -
 Latex gloves 2 (8.7) 3 (17.6) 0.634
 Boots 12 (52.2) 9 (52.9) 0.962
 Plastic apron 3 (13.0) - -

P-values were calculated using χ2 test and the Mann–Whitney U-test.

*P-value < 0.05.