Premium
Work‐related fatalities among youth ages 11–17 in North Carolina, 1990–2008
Author(s) -
Rauscher Kimberly J.,
Runyan Carol W.,
Radisch Deborah
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/ajim.20849
Subject(s) - medicine , medical examiner , demography , occupational safety and health , injury prevention , suicide prevention , environmental health , poison control , population , work (physics) , gerontology , mechanical engineering , pathology , sociology , engineering
Background Local and national surveillance systems are in place that identify occupational deaths. However, due to certain restrictions, they are limited in their ability to accurately count these deaths among adolescent workers. Methods In this population‐based study, we relied on primary data from the North Carolina medical examiner system to identify and describe all work‐related fatalities among North Carolina youth under age 18 between 1990 and 2008. Results We identified 31 work‐related deaths among youth ages 11–17. The majority occurred between 1990 and 1999. Most occurred in construction and agriculture. Vehicles and guns were responsible for the majority of deaths. Conclusions Although the prevalence of adolescent work‐related fatalities has seen a decline in North Carolina, the 31 deaths we detected signal a failure of the systems in place to prevent young worker fatalities. More remains to be done to protect the lives of adolescent workers. Am. J. Ind. Med. 54:136–142, 2011. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.