Citation

Lee BC, Becot FA, Bendixsen C, Benny C, Lundqvist P, Swenson A, Weichelt B, Franklin RC. Front. Public Health 2023; 11: e1270578.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Frontiers Editorial Office)

DOI

10.3389/fpubh.2023.1270578

PMID

37663839

PMCID

PMC10471958

Abstract

Worldwide, agriculture is among the most dangerous industries and one of the few that involves children (< 18 years-of-age) in the worksite as laborers or bystanders (1). Children are exposed to an array of agriculture-related hazards whether working or merely being present in the farm environment. From a public health and child advocacy perspective, safeguarding these young people from preventable disease and injury is important for many reasons. The negative impacts of a childhood agricultural disease or injury range from permanent disabilities, death, family disruptions, and economic hardships including the potential loss of a sustainable family farm enterprise (2). At the same time, growing up in an agricultural setting can lead to independent, hardworking, successful adults, who gain a range of benefits, including skill development, family time together, improved immune response, and other protective health factors (3, 4).

Interest in agricultural occupational safety gained traction in the 1950s as awareness of the preponderance and preventability of fatal and non-fatal farm injuries grew, combined with increased industrialization and mechanization in agriculture, and the increasing science around occupational health and safety. However, despite the family farm model being the most prevalent structure in agriculture worldwide, it was not until the early 1990s that a growing interest in child safety on farms culminated in the first major symposium on childhood agricultural injury prevention. Convened in the United States, this symposium brought together a range of stakeholders, including researchers, educators, and advocates with different perspectives, and was key to launching a network of stakeholders around the goal of ensuring the safety of children on farms...

Language: en

Keywords

Adolescent; Humans; children; injury; safety; youth; policy; agriculture; *Agriculture; *Occupational Injuries/prevention & control; farm; work