Young workers

Until recently, today's occupational safety and health experts have paid little attention to safety and health concerns of working youth. Yet with millions of children and adolescents employed each year, young workers are indeed a special population at risk deserving special attention. Occupational safety and health professionals have critical knowledge and skills to contribute to researching special issues for young workers and promoting safe and healthful work for youth. Unique opportunities for intervention hold the potential for new and rewarding partnerships with, for example, pediatricians and adolescent health specialists, child labor regulators, child injury prevention professionals, maternal and child health professionals, educators, and community leaders. Lessons learned in targeting young workers can have important implications for reaching other special populations that have not been well addressed through conventional approaches to occupational safety and health.