Teens at Work: Work-Related Injuries to Teens in Massachusetts, 2003–2007

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Massachusetts. Department of Public Health. Occupational Health Surveillance Program
• Description:
  What We Do: Having information about where and how young workers are injured on the job is essential to prevent future injuries and to promote safer work opportunities for youth. So, for over 16 years, the Teens at Work: Injury Surveillance and Prevention Project at the Massachusetts department of Public Health (MDPH) has been tracking work-related injuries to Massachusetts teens under age 18. Teens at Work collects data from hospital emergency departments (ED), and workers' compensation (WC) lost wage claims, to identify work-related injuries to teens and conducts follow-up interviews with injured youth. WC claims are for injuries resulting in five or more days of missed work, while ED injuries can range in severity. Informed by these data, Teens at Work collaborates with other agencies and community partners on initiatives to prevent injuries to working teens in Massachusetts. This annual Teens at Work update provides information about work-related injuries to teens in Massachusetts from 2003 through 2007. Teen Injuries at a Glance: In Massachusetts, from 2003 through 2007: Five teenagers under age 18 were fatally injured while working. At least two of these teens were doing tasks prohibited by the child labor laws at the time of injury. There were 4,285 emergency department (ED) visits for work-related injuries to teens under age 18; the average annual rate of ED visits for injuries to 15- to 17-year-olds was 3.1 per 100 full-time workers. There were 1,039 workers' compensation (WC) lost wage claims filed by teens under age 18 for injuries resulting in five or more lost workdays; the average annual rate of lost wage claims for injuries to 15- to 17-year-olds was 0.8 injuries per 100 full-time workers. The majority of teen work injuries were to 16- and 17-year-olds. Males had higher rates of injuries than females, based on both ED visits and WC claims. Open wounds were the most common injuries to working teens, accounting for close to half of the injuries seen in EDs. Sprains were the most common injuries for which WC lost time claims were filed. The largest numbers of nonfatal injuries to workers under age 18 occurred in restaurants (26%), part of the Accommodation & Food Service sector, followed by grocery stores (16%) in the Retail Trade sector, and nursing homes (7%) in the Health Services & Social Assistance sector. Information about the industry in which injured teens were employed was available in the WC claim records but not the ED data set. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Adolescent Age Factors Emergency Responders Food Handling Food Industry Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Mortality Occupational Health Public Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Staff Development Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Adolescents Age-factors Emergency-care Employee-health Food-services Hazards Health-care Health-protection Humans Industrial-environment Industrial-safety Information-systems Injuries Injury-prevention Mortality-data Occupational-health-programs Occupational-safety-programs Occupations Public-health Risk-factors Safety-education Statistical-analysis Surveillance-programs Training Traumatic-injuries Work-environment Work-practices Workers

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• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Publisher:
  Massachusetts Department of Public Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Report
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-8
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20042781
• Citation:
  Boston, MA: Massachusetts Department of Public Health, 2010 Mar; :1-8
• Contact Point Address:
  Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Occupational Health Surveillance Program, Teens at Work: Injury Surveillance and Prevention Project, 250 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02108
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2010
• Performing Organization:
  Massachusetts State Department of Public Health - Boston
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Teens at work: work-related injuries to teens in Massachusetts, 2003-2007
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:eecf4b7483e07fdc6155c5b21bb667ea4be2d5fe401efc8ae46ed553556cdf13b5edd82c1e5ee953f4d8b4f4313e795dd600a5f2cfc3936f0e415bd50117dbb5
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/228678/cdc_228678_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 681.20 KB ]