9A Work-related injuries

Abstract

Extract Introduction ... Many child and adolescent workers are injured at work. They suffer acute injuries with or without chronic consequences and sometimes injuries are fatal. In addition to their physical and psychological impacts, serious injuries have considerable financial and social impact which are even greater when the affected subjects are young. Work-related injuries in children and young workers therefore constitute an important public health concern. This chapter examines the frequency of work-related injuries in children and adolescents, their determinants and consequences, and the interventions that might address the problem. Most of the available literature on child labour and injuries comes from developed countries, mainly from the United States and Canada. Even in developed countries, however, studies are limited. The majority of data is derived from the workers’ compensation claims (WCC) databank which is limited to formal employees, aged over 15 years, who have suffered injuries that resulted in work leave. Eligibility requirements for WCC vary by state, particularly regarding duration of absence from work and severity of injury. This makes it difficult to compare studies. Identifying a denominator for injury events is problematic because of the part-time or seasonal nature of children and young people’s work. Even in developed countries, data on informal workers, workers younger than 15 years old and the long-term effects of work-related injuries are limited [1, 2].