Gender and occupational health and safety requirements among Saskatchewan farm adolescents

Children on farms perform hazardous work that exposes them to risks for injury. Hazards include operation of heavy machinery, working with limited supervision, working at heights, and performing work prohibited by law in other industries. Incidence rates and patterns of injury are known to differ between boys and girls on farms. Farm adherence to occupational health and safety practices, and whether such practices vary by gender, has received limited study in this occupational setting. The objective of this study was to evaluate associations between gender and work practices, and required occupational health and safety practices, within a sample of adolescent children age 12 to 18 years living on Saskatchewan farms. A cross-sectional study was performed. Measures were obtained by self-report. We compared requirements for boys and girls on the following: (1) use of personal protective equipment (PPE), (2) conduct of specific hazardous jobs, (3) training and supervision for equipment work, and (4) training and supervision for large animal work. A total of 434 children were identified, and 297 (68%) met the eligibility criteria. Of these, 170 were boys (57%) with a mean age of 14.5 years (SD 1.9). Occupational health and safety requirements varied by gender; girls were less likely to be required to use PPE (adjusted OR 2.39; 95% CI: 1.16, 4.94). There was no evidence of an association between gender and the conduct of hazardous work. Gender patterns in required training and supervision for work suggested disadvantages for girls, but were not significant. Adolescent girls and boys both performed hazardous jobs on the farm. Girls were as likely to conduct hazardous jobs but not to be required to use PPE. This gender disparity may indicate a need for a public health approach that recognizes gender as a determinant of work assignment and of health and safety practices on farms.