Effect of Safety Training and Knowledge of Child Labor Laws on Reported Injuries among

Working Youth: Results of School Based Surveys

Janet Abboud Dal Santo1

J.Michael Bowling2

1Duke University2 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Funding: R01 OH03530-02 from

The National Institute of Occupational Safety

and Health

Introduction

• About 80% of adolescents work during high school years

• Young workers are at increased risk of injury than adult workers with an

estimated 400 young workers injured on the job every day

• Injuries have a negative impact on the physical, mental and psychological

development of youth workers as well as on their educational achievement

• Studies on the effect of safety training, knowledge of child labor laws and

injuries among youth workers are limited

• Child labor laws are designed to protect young workers from working in

hazardous occupations and from working long hours that can have adverse

effects on their health and safety and on their educational attainment

• There is limited information on the adequacy and effectiveness of existing

workplace safety training programs in preventing injuries among youth

workers in the industries where they are likely to work

Objectives

• Examine associations between safety training, knowledge of child labor laws and reported injuries among teens

• Investigate safety training in industries where the majority of teen injuries occurred

• Implications for youth safety interventions to address the gaps in education and training of teens and for targeting interventions at industries where injuries are more likely to occur and where safety training is lacking

Methods

• School-based surveys• Conducted in 32 randomly selected high schools in

North Carolina and South Carolina (October–December 2005)

• Teens who had worked in any paid job (referent job) outside the home during the two years prior to the survey completed the entire questionnaire

• Excludes: domestic and agricultural employment• Anonymous 15–20 minute questionnaire• Non-working students completed sociodemographic

section only

Survey Response

• Using CASRO definition response rate is 73.8–86.6% for North Carolina survey and 82.2–91.1% for South Carolina

• A total of 1655 working teens completed the whole questionnaire

• A total of 2089 non-working students completed

socio-demographic section only

Working Teens%

Weighted Frequencies

Race    

White 58.3 942

Black/African American 30.6 495

Other 10.6  171

Male 48.0 785

Age when started working (≥16) 61.2 918

Worked during the school year 79.4 1307Types of Jobs: Services Cashiers and sales Managers /professionals/administrative Laborers

59.223.85.8

10.0

90336389

153

Selected Characteristics of Working Teens

Variable % Frequency

Safety Training

No safety training 34.9 26.7Some safety training 36.0 27.5Increased safety training

29.2 22.3

Knowledge of child Labor Laws

Laws that limit the kind of work teens can work

45.3 59.3

Laws that regulate the hours teens can work

44.6 57.6

Laws that regulate how late teens can work

42.8 55.3

Duration of Employment

Worked <3 months 12.1 8.3Worked 3-6 months 9.1 6.2Worked > 6 months 78.8 54.2

Injured Teens Safety Training, Knowledge of Child Labor Laws, and Duration of Employment

Variables Students with reported injuries

P value

Received safety training

Yes 53 (68%)0.58

No 24 (31%)

Informed of child labor laws that limit the kind of work

Yes 45 (59%)0.12No 31 (40%)

Informed of child labor laws that regulate the hours teens can work

Yes 45 (57%)<0.05No 32 (42%)

Informed of child labor laws that regulate how late teens can work

Yes 43 (55%)0.75No 35 (45%)

Weighted Number (%) of Students with Reported Injuries

by Safety Training and Knowledgeof Child Labor Laws

Associations between Safety Training, Knowledge of Child Labor Laws,

and Injuries among Working Teens

Variables Chi-square DF P Value

Received Safety Training (n=1621)

0.31 1 0.58

Informed of Child Labor Laws that limit the kinds of work (n=1596)

2.36 1 0.12

Informed of Child Labor Laws that regulate the hours teens can work (n=1611)

4.95 1 <0.05

Informed of Child Labor Laws that regulate how late teens can work (n=1612)

0.10 1 0.75

Unadjusted Associations between Type of Work and Safety Training

among Working Teens

Variables OR95%

Confidence Interval

P Value

Worked in recreational facilities 1.72 (1.19, 2.52) <0.05

Worked in construction 0.70 (0.43, 1.14) 0.15

Worked in landscaping 0.77 (0.41, 1.43) 0.40

Worked in food industry 1.90 (1.46, 2.46) <0.05

Unadjusted Associations betweenType of Work and Injuries

among Working Teens

Variables OR95%

Confidence Interval

P Value

Worked in recreational facilities 0.80 (0.33, 1.93) 0.62

Worked in construction 3.72 (1.74, 7.94) <0.05

Worked in landscaping 2.99 (1.06, 8.41) <0.05

Worked in food industry 1.25 (0.57, 2.74) 0.57

Weighted Frequencies and (%) of Injuried Teens Reporting Safety Training in Industries where Injuries Occurred

Industries % Frequencies

Food industry 88.8 20.3

Recreational facilities 41.8 3.2

Construction 48.0 4.7

Landscaping and mowing 100 5.2

Discussion

• Results suggest that the training teens received was not associated with reported injuries.

• Teens’ knowledge of restriction on hours of work was associated with reported injuries but knowledge of restrictions on kinds of work and how late teens can work were not associated with reported injuries

• Teens who work in the construction industry or in landscaping/mowing companies are more likely to get injured than teens who work in other occupations

• Teens who work in the food industry and in recreational facilities are more likely to get trained than teens working in other occupations

• At least half of teens with reported injuries had receiving some kind of safety training when working in food industry, construction, landscaping/mowing, and recreational facilities

• Did not verify veracity of self report by working teens which may have resulted in recall bias

• Surveys did not employ state-wide random sampling procedures which may limit external validity of the study (generalizability)

• Teens who worked in domestic employment or in agriculture were excluded from the study

• School-based survey so high school drop-outs were not represented

Limitations

The lack of any type of safety training by at least half of teens who reported serious injuries merits further investigation

It appears that the safety training teens receive in industries where the majority of injuries occur is ineffective in preventing injuries suggesting the need to tailor injury prevention programs to the developmental needs of teens and tasks that they perform

Results support previous findings on the lack of use of protective equipment by injured teens suggesting the need for more adequate supervision and better training on the use of personal protective devices

Findings suggest the need for injury prevention programs to specifically target industries where the majority of teen injuries occur; construction sites, food industry, landscaping and mowing companies, and recreational facilities

Conclusions

Acknowledgement

Funding: R01 OH03530-02 from

The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health

Christian Douglas provided assistance in data analysis

Lynn Tuttle provided assistance in formatting, design, and editing