Causes of work-related injuries among young workers in British Columbia.

BACKGROUND

We conducted a study to determine the types and causes of serious injuries to young workers (YW) (ages 14-24) in British Columbia.

METHODS

The WorkSafeBC database from 2000 to 2005 was searched for all claims, all non-health-care-only (NHCO) injuries and all serious injury claims involving workers aged 14-24.

RESULTS

Of 384,250 NHCO claims, 15.6% were for YW, not significantly different from the British Columbia workforce (P > 0.75). Of the 5217 serious injuries, 9.8% (including 40 fatalities) were to YW-455 males and 56 females, significantly different from the workforce (50% male) ((2) = 259.8; df = 1; P < 0.001). Ten percentage of YW injuries occurred in the first week, 20% in the first month, of employment. Education level of injured YWs was lower than average for the provincial workforce. Only 38% of YWs injured in vehicle crashes (the most common cause of fatalities) were wearing seatbelts.

CONCLUSIONS

Safety training should be provided before YWs start work and in media other than school. Seatbelt use should be addressed.