Childhood agricultural injuries: an update for clinicians

Details

• Personal Author:
  Lee BC ; Marlenga B ; Wright S
• Description:
  Every three days a child dies in an agriculture-related incident, and every day 45 children are injured in the United States. These tragedies should not be regarded as "accidents," as they often follow predictable and preventable patterns. Prevention is not only possible, but vital, since many of these injuries are almost immediately fatal. Major sources of fatal injuries are machinery, motor vehicles, and drowning. Tractor injuries alone account for one-third of all deaths. The leading sources of nonfatal injuries are structures and surfaces, animals (primarily horses), and vehicles (primarily all-terrain vehicles [ATVs]). Children living on farms are at a higher risk than hired workers, and are unprotected by child labor laws. Preschool children and older male youth are at the highest risk for fatal injury, while nonfatal injury was most common among boys aged 10-15 years. Multiple prevention strategies have been developed, yet economic and cultural barriers often impede their implementation. Educational campaigns alone are often ineffective, and must be coupled with re-engineering of machines and safety devices to reduce fatalities. Legislation has the potential to improve child safety, yet political and economic pressures often prohibit changes in child labor laws and mandated safety requirements. Clinicians play a pivotal role in injury prevention, and should actively address common rural risk-taking behaviors as part of the routine office visit in order to help prevent these tragedies. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Animals Automobiles Drowning Education Environmental Exposure Mortality Occupational Health Preventive Medicine Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety

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• Keywords:
  Children Exposure Levels Fatalities Injuries Machinery Machine Safety Mortality Rates Motor Vehicles Preventive Medicine Risk Factors Safety Education Safety Measures Safety Practices Tractors

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• ISSN:
  1538-5442
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 5 ; Wisconsin
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  20-44
• Volume:
  43
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20048916
• Citation:
  Curr Probl Pediatr Adolesc Health Care 2013 Feb; 43(2):20-44
• Contact Point Address:
  Suzanne Wright, Marshfield Clinic Pediatric Residency, Department of Pediatrics, 1000 North Oak Ave, Marshfield, WI 54449
• Email:
  wright.suzanne@marshfieldclinic.org
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2013
• Performing Organization:
  Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20080930
• Source Full Name:
  Current Problems in Pediatric and Adolescent Health Care
• End Date:
  20250929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:83625800d00b93f87c40aedd605b8eb2f39d477da83169780144bbee977075abdecc9ff1a8858694b48c31db0888b6b7039e5414cbfc02c8a4219a779a472410
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/203532/cdc_203532_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 637.17 KB ]