Foundational workplace safety and health competencies for the emerging workforce

Details

• Personal Author:
  Guerin, Rebecca J. ; Okun, Andrea H. ; Schulte, Paul A.
• Description:
  Introduction: Young workers (aged 15-24) suffer disproportionately from workplace injuries, with a nonfatal injury rate estimated to be two times higher than among workers age 25 or over. These workers make up approximately 9% of the U.S. workforce and studies have shown that nearly 80% of high school students work at some point during high school. Although young worker injuries are a pressing public health problem, the critical knowledge and skills needed to prepare youth for safe and healthy work are missing from most frameworks used to prepare the emerging U.S. workforce. Methods: A framework of foundational workplace safety and health knowledge and skills (the NIOSH 8 Core Competencies) was developed. The framework was aligned with the Health Belief Model (HBM) and the Core Competencies were mapped to the individual HBM constructs. Results: The proposed NIOSH Core Competencies utilize the HBM to provide a framework for foundational workplace safety and health knowledge and skills. An examination of how these competencies and the HBM apply to actions that workers take to protect themselves is provided. The social and physical environments that influence these actions are also discussed. Conclusions: The NIOSH 8 Core Competencies, aligned with one of the most widely used conceptual frameworks in health behavior practice, fill a critical gap in preparing the emerging U.S. workforce to be cognizant of workplace risks and to participate in, and benefit from, safe and healthy work. Practical applications: Integration of the NIOSH 8 Core Competencies into school curricula is one way to ensure that every young person, before he or she enters the workforce, has the foundational workplace safety and health knowledge and skills to be cognizant of risks on the job and to participate in, and benefit from, safe and healthy work. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Adolescent Behavior Education Nervous System Occupational Health Public Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Adolescents Author Keywords: Young Workers Career Readiness Cognitive Function Curriculum Development Health Belief Model Injuries Injury Prevention Life Skills Occupational Safety And Health Occupational Safety Programs Occupations Public Health Safety Education Work-life Balance Worker Safety Work Experience Workforce Development Workplace Safety And Health Young Workers

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• ISSN:
  0022-4375
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  OD - Office of the Director ; EID - Education and Information Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  43-51
• Volume:
  59
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20048777
• Citation:
  J Safety Res 2016 Dec; 59:43-51
• Contact Point Address:
  Andrea H. Okun, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 1090 Tusculum Ave MS C-14, Cincinnati, OH 45226, USA
• Email:
  aho1@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2017
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Safety Research
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:6374e0adec94308d9bed6d7c791cd3816338e93b8edaf2e978024b8c3e8b8b9be9a6449b347984254b034738a2ea8409a2099f8fec665cfa8901312cc97ab8c7
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/203435/cdc_203435_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 648.41 KB ]