National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1090 Tusculum Ave. MS C-10, Cincinnati, OH 45226, United States.
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1090 Tusculum Ave. MS C-10, Cincinnati, OH 45226, United States.
J Safety Res. 2020 Jun;73:179-187. doi: 10.1016/j.jsr.2020.02.011. Epub 2020 Mar 3.
Even though the majority of youth in the U.S. work, and workers under the age of 18 are seriously injured on the job at higher rates when compared to adults, most adolescents lack instruction on workplace safety and health.
This qualitative study examines the extent to which selected U.S. school districts provide workplace safety and health instruction to students and explores the factors that influence districts' decision to adopt a free, foundational occupational safety and health (OSH) curriculum.
Results from key informant interviews conducted with a purposive sample of 34 school administrators revealed that only a third of the districts have at least 75% of their students receive some instruction on workplace safety and health, while 15% indicated they provide no instruction on this topic. District staff who indicated that they provide OSH instruction stated that it is most often taught through career and technical education (CTE; 65%) and/or health classes (26%). They believed the benefits of providing this instruction include assisting students to get jobs (38%) and helping students learn about safety (32%), while competing demands (44%) and time constraints (41%) were identified as barriers to providing OSH education to students.
Given the importance of work to teens and their increased risk of work injury, interested stakeholders-including parents, teachers, employers, and the public health community-should promote the inclusion of workplace safety and health instruction in U.S. secondary schools. Practical Applications: This research fills a gap in current knowledge about the extent to which OSH is currently taught within U.S. secondary schools, enumerates barriers and facilitators to the inclusion of workplace safety and health instruction in schools, presents a free, foundational curriculum in workplace safety and health, and provides directions for future research on the vital role schools can play in preparing the future workforce for safe and healthy employment.
尽管美国大多数年轻人都有工作，而且与成年人相比，18 岁以下的工人在工作中受伤的几率要高得多，但大多数青少年缺乏工作场所安全和健康方面的指导。
本定性研究考察了美国部分学区向学生提供工作场所安全和健康指导的程度，并探讨了影响学区决定采用免费基础职业安全与健康（OSH）课程的因素。
对 34 名学校管理人员进行了重点知情者访谈，结果显示，只有三分之一的地区有至少 75%的学生接受过工作场所安全与健康方面的指导，而 15%的地区表示他们没有提供这方面的指导。表示提供 OSH 指导的地区工作人员表示，这通常是通过职业和技术教育（CTE；65%）和/或健康课程（26%）进行的。他们认为提供这种指导的好处包括帮助学生找到工作（38%）和帮助学生了解安全知识（32%），而竞争需求（44%）和时间限制（41%）被认为是向学生提供 OSH 教育的障碍。
鉴于工作对青少年的重要性以及他们工作受伤风险的增加，包括家长、教师、雇主和公共卫生界在内的利益相关者应提倡在美国中学中纳入工作场所安全和健康指导。
这项研究填补了当前关于美国中学中 OSH 教学程度的知识空白，列举了在学校中纳入工作场所安全和健康教学的障碍和促进因素，提供了一份免费的基础工作场所安全和健康课程，并为未来关于学校在为未来劳动力做好安全和健康就业准备方面可以发挥的重要作用的研究提供了方向。
