Western States Division, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 4230 University Dr #310, Anchorage, AK, 99508, USA.
Western States Division, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Spokane, WA, USA.
BMC Public Health. 2023 Jan 9;23(1):57. doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-14676-7.
Young workers (aged 15-24 years) experience higher rates of job-related injury compared with workers aged 25-44 years in the United States. Young workers may have limited or no prior work experience or safety training, which can contribute to their injury risk. In 2018, Alaska had the second highest work-related fatality rate and 14th highest non-fatal injury rate in the United States. This study aimed to characterize nonfatal and fatal occupational injuries among young workers in Alaska.
To describe injury patterns among Alaska young workers from 2014-2018, we used data from four datasets: Alaska Workers' Compensation, Alaska Occupational Injury Surveillance System, Alaska Trauma Registry, and Alaska Fishermen's Fund. The datasets were merged two at a time and filtered by the worker characteristics (e.g., age and sex) and incident characteristics (e.g., date of injury). Duplicates were then manually identified between the datasets using the variables above. The injury narrative and Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System codes were used last to verify true duplicates. Descriptive analyses were performed after the duplicates were merged.
During the 5-year study period 2014-2018, young workers experienced 20 fatal and 12,886 nonfatal injuries. Residents of Alaska comprised 85% of nonfatal and 70% of fatal injuries. The top three major occupation groups with the highest number of injuries were production (1,391, 14%), food preparation (1,225, 12%), and transportation/material moving (1,166, 11%). The most common events leading to injuries were struck by object or equipment (2,027, 21%), overexertion involving outside sources (1,385, 14%), and struck against object or equipment (905, 9%). The most common nature of injuries were sprains/strains/tears (3,024, 29%), cuts/lacerations (1,955, 19%), and bruises/contusions (1,592, 15%).
Although progress has been made in reducing worker injuries, Alaskan young workers still experience injuries and fatalities frequently. Based on findings, there is a clear need for employers, researchers, public health professionals, parents, and young workers to prioritize young worker safety through an integrated approach, from education and training to adequate workplace supervision and support.
在美国，年轻工人（15-24 岁）经历的与工作相关的伤害率高于 25-44 岁的工人。年轻工人可能工作经验有限或没有安全培训，这可能导致他们受伤的风险增加。2018 年，阿拉斯加的工作相关死亡率在美国排名第二，非致命性伤害率排名第十四。本研究旨在描述阿拉斯加年轻工人的非致命性和致命性职业伤害情况。
为了描述 2014-2018 年期间阿拉斯加年轻工人的受伤模式，我们使用了来自四个数据集的数据：阿拉斯加工人赔偿、阿拉斯加职业伤害监测系统、阿拉斯加创伤登记处和阿拉斯加渔民基金。数据集两两合并，并按工人特征（如年龄和性别）和事件特征（如受伤日期）进行过滤。然后，使用上述变量手动识别数据集之间的重复项。最后，使用伤害描述和职业伤害和疾病分类系统代码来验证真正的重复项。合并重复项后进行描述性分析。
在 2014-2018 年的 5 年研究期间，年轻工人经历了 20 例致命伤害和 12886 例非致命伤害。阿拉斯加居民占非致命伤害的 85%，致命伤害的 70%。受伤人数最多的前三大职业群体是生产（1391 人，占 14%）、食品准备（1225 人，占 12%）和运输/材料搬运（1166 人，占 11%）。导致受伤的最常见事件是被物体或设备击中（2027 人，占 21%）、过度劳累涉及外部来源（1385 人，占 14%）和被物体或设备击中（905 人，占 9%）。受伤的最常见性质是扭伤/拉伤/撕裂（3024 人，占 29%）、切割/撕裂伤（1955 人，占 19%）和瘀伤/挫伤（1592 人，占 15%）。
尽管在减少工人受伤方面已经取得了进展，但阿拉斯加的年轻工人仍经常受伤和死亡。基于研究结果，雇主、研究人员、公共卫生专业人员、家长和年轻工人显然需要通过综合方法，从教育和培训到充分的工作场所监督和支持，将年轻工人的安全放在首位。
