Work injuries of 13-17 year old Icelanders: Causes and consequences

Material and methods: A survey was carried out amongst 2000 teenagers, aged 13-17, randomly selected from the Registers Iceland. The response rate was 48.4%. The teenagers were asked in a closed question about whether they had had an accident at work, and in an open one about the type and cause of the injury. A Chi-square test was used to test statistical significance: 95% confidence interval (CI).

Results: A fifth of the young people had had an accident at work, one quarter of the injured workers were absent from work because of the injury of which 5.9% for more than a week. The percentage of injured workers increases with age and has reached 30,7% among the 17-year-olds. Cuts and sprains were the most common injuries, whereas back injuries and bone fractures caused the longest absences. Sharp instruments were the most common cause of an injury, but lifting/carrying a (heavy) object as well as a fall of an object caused the longest absences.

Conclusion: The prevalence of young workers' injuries and the seriousness of some of these injuries are of concern. In addition to education on occupational health and safety (OHS) and OHS training, future research must analyse if their labour market position threaten the young people's safety, and if it is the case, how to prevent it.

Table I. Young workers who have had at least one accident at work, by age and gender, n (%)

Table I illustrates that around a fifth (21.3%) of the young workers have had at least one accident at work, of which 11.9% one accident and 9.5% two or more accidents. The table shows significant age difference. In total, 14.3% of the 13-year-olds have had an accident at work, but the proportion has increased to 30.7% among those aged 17. Also, 5.4% of the youngest group and 17.0% of the older group have had more than one accident. In addition, the table shows significant gender difference: more boys (24.1%) than girls (19.2%) have been injured at work and the boys (12.8%) are more likely than the girls (6.9%) to have been injured more than once.

Table II. Absence from work because of work injury, by age and gender, n (%)

Table II illustrates that 29.6% of the young injured workers were absent from work for a week or less, but 5.9% for more than a week. More than one week's absence is interpreted here as an indication of a serious injury. The table does not reveal a significant age or gender difference with regard to if and for how long the young workers were absent from work because of a work injury.

Table III. Types of injury, by absence, n (%)

Table III shows the most common injuries the young workers suffered in numerical order. Cuts (25.6%) are the leading, sprains (12.2%) the second, and burns (9.6%) the third most common type of injury. None of these most common injuries were serious enough to lead to more than one week's absence from work. Back injuries and bone fractures were the most frequent cause of such a long absence.

Table IV. Causes of the injury, by absence, n (%)

As table IV illustrates, something in the way of the young worker, a sharp instrument, a hot instrument/liquid and the fall of a (heavy) object are most often the cause of injuries of young workers. In total, those factors accounted for 41.0% of the work injuries. On the other hand, a fall of a (heavy) object, carrying/lifting such an object, and an animal are factors that caused the young workers more than one week's absence from work.

Table V. The most and second most common causes of injury

Table V shows that the injuries which most often led to a long absence from work – back injuries and bone fractures – were most commonly caused by the young worker carrying/lifting a (heavy) object, slipping on an icy/slippery surface or by a fall of a (heavy) object.