Marie Laberge

Occupational health and safety issues affecting young workers: A literature review

Many overview articles, reports, book chapters and literature reviews have examined the health and safety of young workers. These sources discuss the relationships between the work conditions of young workers and the various indicators of accidents and occupational diseases. Breslin et al. [12,13] conducted two literature reviews of quantitative studies to determine which factors best predicted work accidents and occupational disorders in young people. The present article proposes a review of young peoples occupational health and safety (OHS) factors (e.g., demographic, individual, professional, organizational, temporal and operational factors) in both qualitative and quantitative studies. Five types of problems were analyzed in greater depth, namely MSD symptoms, respiratory, allergy and toxicological problems, mental health and well-being, alcohol and drug consumption, and fatigue. This review likewise examines related dimensions that allow us to adopt a more global perspective on this subject by considering such elements as young peoples values, their knowledge and attitudes, safety practices in companies, the safe integration of young people, and rehabilitation. A total of 189 scientific articles were selected on the basis of certain criteria. These articles came from refereed OHS journals published between 1994 and 2005.

Hyperargininemia: intellectual and motor improvement related to changes in biochemical data.

Hyperargininemia is an inherited urea cycle disorder resulting from deficiency of arginase (EC 3.5.3.1). The clinical picture includes progressive spastic diplegia, mental retardation, and epilepsy. Acute episodes of vomiting, ataxia, and lethargy or agitation can also occur. Since the disorder was first described in 1969,1 various treatments have been proposed, including restriction of protein intake, oral administration of an amino acid mixture, therapy with sodium benzoate or sodium phenylacetate or both, and enzyme replacement. However, only five patients have been described who have shown sustained improvement in motor and mental abilities during therapy. 2-4 Another patient had improvement in auditory brain-stem evoked potentials during treatment. 5 The mechanisms responsible for neurologic damage are unknown but are unlikely to be due to hyperammonemia alone. Arginine and its guanidino metabolites are candidate neurotoxins. 6,7 A disturbance of central monoamine metabolism has also been described in one patient.8, 9 In this article, we describe the clinical course of a girl with hyperargininemia whose condition progressively improved during a 24-month period of strict metabolic control. We also present the results of serial determinations of ammonium, arginine, and its guanidino metabolites and of neuro-

Employment and work safety among 12 to 14 year olds: listening to parents

BackgroundSurvey research indicates that a surprising number of 12 to 14 year olds in North America engage in some form of paid work, and work-related injuries for this age group are reported at rates similar to older teens. Parents exhibit significant involvement in many aspects of their teens’ work and may influence perceptions of work safety, yet few studies have explored this phenomenon from a qualitative perspective with parents of working 12 to 14 year olds.MethodsThis paper focuses on parental perceptions and understandings of work safety based on focus groups conducted with urban Canadian parents of young teens who work for pay. Parents discussed the types of job held by their 12 to 14 year olds, the perceived costs and benefits to working at this age, and their understanding of risk and supervision on the job. A grounded theory approach was used to thematically analyze the focus group transcripts.ResultsParents in this study held favourable attitudes towards their 12 to 14 year olds’ working. Parents linked pro-social moral values and skills such as responsibility, work ethic, time management, and financial literacy with their young teen’s employment experience. Risks and drawbacks were generally downplayed or discounted. Perceptions of workplace safety were mitigated by themes of trust, familiarity, sense of being in control and having discretion over their 12 to 14 year olds’ work situation. Further, parental supervision and monitoring fell along a continuum, from full parental responsibility for monitoring to complete trust and delegation of supervision to the workplace.ConclusionsThe findings suggest that positive parental attitudes towards working overshadow occupational health and safety concerns. Parents may discount potential hazards based on the presence of certain mitigating factors.

Allowing for MSD Prevention During Facilities Planning for a Public Service: An a Posteriori Analysis of 10 Library Design Projects

Research was conducted to identify an ergonomics-based intervention model designed to factor in musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) prevention when library projects are being designed. The first stage of the research involved an a posteriori analysis of 10 recent redesign projects. The purpose of the analysis was to document perceptions about the attention given to MSD prevention measures over the course of a project on the part of 2 categories of employees: librarians responsible for such projects and personnel working in the libraries before and after changes. Subjects were interviewed in focus groups. Outcomes of the analysis can guide our ergonomic assessment of current situations and contribute to a better understanding of the way inclusion or improvement of prevention measures can support the workplace design process.

Safe and shealthy integration into semiskilled jobs: does gender matter?

Women report fewer injuries than men when they are young, but report a higher proportion of professional diseases later in life (35 years +). Understanding early work conditions that lead to postponed health outcomes is necessary if we are to prevent womens injury as well as mens. Introduction to work and safe integration programs are often put forward to prevent injuries among youth. This paper aims to illustrate some differences in the job introduction / integration process for men and women and to discuss some gender-based Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) implications. Data come from two waves of interviews with 31 students enrolled in vocational training for a semiskilled trade. Results demonstrated differences between men and women: trades chosen, OHS complaints, supervising patterns, integration to work, etc. Women often choose customer service jobs, have less formal supervision and are often left to themselves when learning to do their job. Men declared more accidents while women reported more musculoskeletal symptoms. Findings from this research suggest young womens OHS issues should not be trivialized and that specific youth prevention programs for sectors where women are more present, such as customer service, should be developed.

Work Activity Analysis to Support Technological Aid Supply in Vocational Training for Adolescents with Learning Difficulties

Adolescents with special needs are at risk of leaving school without a qualifying certification. This pilot study aims to develop an innovative intervention based on using technological aids (TA) to help students enrolled in a semiskilled vocational training program developing work skills. The intervention consists of successive steps leading to work activity analysis, relevant means identification, and realization of pedagogical activities supported by TA. Eight teachers and fifteen students were recruited for a multiple case study. Teachers first attended a training workshop, and were then asked to apply the intervention with students who need help in their traineeship. Multiple data were collected and triangulated (interviews, log books, meetings, in situ observations, etc.). In total, the teachers implemented 46 pedagogical activities with their students. Most of the time, teachers were the principal users (initiated the activity, manipulated the device, programmed the application, and determined the use conditions). Concerning the student participation, they were actively involved at various level in most activity as well, but they did not always handle the technological devices themselves. The perceived value of the activities was generally well rated by teachers.

School-to-work transition for youth with severe physical disabilities: Stakeholder perspectives

BACKGROUND Multiple challenges await people with severe physical disability when they are preparing to enter the labour market at the end of the school period. OBJECTIVE This study aims to better understand the multiple factors that influence the course of disabled youth transitioning into the workforce by gathering perceptions from stakeholders. Methods The study used a qualitative descriptive design with an interpretative description approach to analyze the experiences reported by six school staff, six parents, and three employers. RESULTS Significant facilitators to the workforce transition were the active involvement of the schools staff in multiplying outreach activities between the various external partners. Significant obstacles include the level of help required to complete day-to-day activities at work and student lack of work experience. Government cutbacks were unanimously identified as the prominent obstacle. CONCLUSIONS The results presented in this study indicate that a successful school to work transition program is dependent on many factors. These factors include the characteristics of the targeted population, the level of involvement from key stakeholders, the willingness of employers to hire this population, as well as program objectives deviating from paid employment. Further development opportunities have proven to be helpful, such as the development of a solid partnership and collaboration between all stakeholders.