Reed Deborah B, Browning Steven R, Westneat Susan C, Kidd Pamela S
College of Nursing, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40536-0232, USA.
J Rural Health. 2006 Fall;22(4):314-20. doi: 10.1111/j.1748-0361.2006.00052.x.
Children on farms perform work that places them at risk for acute and chronic negative health outcomes. Despite strategies for preventing and reducing the risk of disease and injury, children's use of personal protective equipment and safely equipped farm machinery has generally remained unreported.
This paper reports the use of personal protective equipment, self-protective work behaviors, and selected risk exposures of children aged 14-19, who perform farm work.
Survey results of adolescent high school students (n = 593) enrolled in agriculture class in Kentucky, Iowa, and Mississippi. Students were part of the sample that participated in the Agricultural Disability Awareness and Risk Education Project.
Boys were at a significantly higher risk of exposure compared to girls, and boys engaged more frequently in risky behavior. Hearing and respiratory protection was used minimally and sporadically. Physical symptoms influenced use of hearing and respirator use, as did physician recommendation to use such protection. Of students who operated farm tractors, only half most frequently operated tractors with safety bars and seat belts. Sixty percent of the students reported using equipment with damaged or missing safety shields.
In addition to the usual risks of farm work, adolescents may be at even greater risk by not using personal protective equipment or not having access to machinery that is properly equipped for maximum protection. Health care providers should incorporate advice to adolescents and their parents on risk reduction, particularly on the use of personal protective equipment.
农场中的儿童从事的工作使他们面临急性和慢性负面健康后果的风险。尽管有预防和降低疾病及伤害风险的策略，但儿童使用个人防护装备和配备安全设施的农用机械的情况普遍未得到报告。
本文报告了从事农场工作的14至19岁儿童使用个人防护装备、自我保护工作行为以及选定的风险暴露情况。
对肯塔基州、爱荷华州和密西西比州参加农业课程的青少年高中生（n = 593）进行调查的结果。这些学生是参与农业残疾意识和风险教育项目样本的一部分。
与女孩相比，男孩暴露风险显著更高，且男孩更频繁地参与危险行为。听力和呼吸防护装备的使用极少且不规律。身体症状以及医生对使用此类防护的建议会影响听力和呼吸器的使用。在操作农用拖拉机的学生中，只有一半最常操作带有安全栏和安全带的拖拉机。60%的学生报告使用了安全防护装置损坏或缺失的设备。
除了农场工作通常存在的风险外，青少年可能因不使用个人防护装备或无法使用配备完善以提供最大保护的机械而面临更大风险。医疗保健提供者应向青少年及其父母提供关于降低风险的建议，特别是关于个人防护装备的使用。
