A descriptive analysis of Canadian youth treated in emergency departments for work-related injuries

Because labour laws and regulations protect minors by preventing them from working, this population is often excluded from labour data. However, work is common among Canadian youth. Young teens, and especially pre-teens, have informal employment arrangements such as odd jobs, yard work, babysitting and deliveries. Work injuries occurring in these informal employment arrangements are surprisingly frequent and not usually captured by traditional occupational health and safety data sources (e.g. workers' compensation claims). We analyzed data from the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program (CHIRPP) and found 999 youths (5 to 17 years) who had suffered a work-related injury between 1995 and 1998. They were concentrated in two main areas: clerical/service and manual labour. Work-related injuries increased with age. Approximately one third of the youth experienced open wounds and 5.5 percent had animal bites. Collisions with someone or something were common, as were falls. Others or animals were frequently involved. For the majority of cases, the direct cause of injury corresponds to one of ten categories. Injuries and circumstances varied by occupation. Even informal work arrangements (e.g. delivering newspapers) contained hazards and these varied by workplace. The injuries of young workers have implications for future research, prevention efforts, health services policy and legislative and regulatory efforts.