Abstract

Young workers are in particular need of occupational safety and health (OSH) services, but it is unclear whether they have the necessary access to such services. We compared young with older workers in terms of the access to and awareness of OSH services, and examined if differences in employment conditions accounted for age-differences. We used survey data from Italy (INSuLA 1, 2014), with a sample of 8000 employed men and women aged 19 to 65 years, including 732 young workers aged under 30 years. Six questions measured access to services, and five questions assessed awareness of different OSH issues. Several employment conditions were included. Analyses revealed that young workers had less access and a lower awareness of OSH issues compared with older workers. For instance, odds ratios (OR) suggest that young workers had a 1.44 times higher likelihood [95%—confidence interval 1.21–1.70] of having no access to an occupational physician, and were more likely (2.22 [1.39–3.38]) to be unaware of legal OSH frameworks. Adjustment for selected employment conditions (company size, temporary contract) substantially reduced OR’s, indicating that these conditions contribute to differences between older and younger workers. We conclude that OSH management should pay particular attention to young workers in general and, to young workers in precarious employment, and working in small companies in particular.

Highlights

  • Young workers are in particular need of occupational safety and health (OSH) services [1,2].It is well documented, for example, that injury rates are significantly higher among young workers than among older and more experienced workers [3,4,5]

  • The cross-sectional survey was conducted in collaboration with TNS Italia, who carried out the interviews, and with the National Institute for Statistics (ISTAT), who assisted in calculating the strata/quota for the sampling

  • Men were slightly overrepresented in the sample aged 30 and older (53.1% men), and this gender imbalance was even higher among young workers (60.8% males)

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Summary

Introduction

Young workers are in particular need of occupational safety and health (OSH) services [1,2]. It is well documented, for example, that injury rates are significantly higher among young workers than among older and more experienced workers [3,4,5]. To effectively protect young workers against injuries and other work related diseases, special consideration must be given to improving access to core OSH services, and using safety training for young workers to increase their knowledge and. Res. Public Health 2018, 15, 1511; doi:10.3390/ijerph15071511 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph

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