TY - JOUR
PY - 2014//
TI - Labor and related injuries among schoolchildren in Palestine: findings from the National Study of Palestinian Schoolchildren (HBSC-WBG2006)
JO - ISRN pediatrics
A1 - Jildeh, Christine
A1 - Abdeen, Ziad
A1 - Al Sabbah, Haleama
A1 - Papandreou, Christopher
A1 - Ghannam, Ibrahim
A1 - Weller, Nancy
A1 - Philalithis, Anastas
SP - 729573
EP - 729573
VL - 2014
IS -
N2 - Background. Labor related injuries among Palestinian schoolchildren are a significant undocumented public health concern. This study aimed at documenting the prevalence and nature of work related injuries among schoolchildren as well as identifying sociodemographic factors that predict these injuries.
METHODS. A cross-sectional survey included 15,963 children of whom 6458 (40.8%) completed an optional package related to labor. Students aged 12-18 years self-completed the international WHO collaborative HBSC valid questionnaires between April and May of 2006.
RESULTS. Approximately 73.8% of the students who filled the optional package reported working during the last 12 months, of whom 79.1% sustained a work related injury. Work injuries were significantly higher among boys, younger children, and children enrolled in UNRWA schools and living in Gaza Strip (P < 0.05). Children working ≥3 hours/day were more likely to experience injuries, 1.73 (95% CI, 1.53-1.95), than those working ≤3/day. About half of the children worked in retail trade (51.5%), agriculture (20.0%), and cleaning (11.4%). Injury type was related to the type of work performed.
CONCLUSIONS. The high prevalence of injuries among working Palestinian schoolchildren confirms its severity as a public health problem. To reduce occupational injuries, policymakers and professionals should develop intervention programs that target the public and health providers.
Language: en
LA - en SN - 2090-469X UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/729573 ID - ref1 ER -