Have young workers more injuries than older ones? An international literature review.

PROBLEM

Two questions were posed in this global literature review: Do young workers have a higher occupational injury rate? Are the injuries of young workers more often fatal than those of older workers?

METHOD

The studies of nonfatal and fatal injuries were collected based on the following criteria: (a) published in peer-reviewed journals; (b) the young workers were under 25 years of age; (c) the injury rate or fatality rate of young workers and the overall rate was published; and (d) description of the population and the number of injuries was presented.

RESULTS

The majority of 63 nonfatal studies reported showed that young workers had a higher injury rate than older workers. Twenty-nine out of 45 studies on fatal occupational injuries indicated that young workers had a lower fatality rate than older workers. These results are clearer for men than for women.

IMPACT ON INDUSTRY

The results showed that young men were a risk group for occupational injuries. However, the injuries of young workers were reported as less often fatal than those of older workers.