 |
The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
|
The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Curtis Breslin, PhD and Peter Smith, MPH. Insitute for Work & Health, 481 University Ave, Suite 800, Toronto, ON M5G 2E9, Canada, 416-927-2027, cbreslin@iwh.on.ca
Purpose: Youth in manual occupations are injured at a higher rate than those in non-manual jobs. Family socioeconomic status has been implicated in a U.S. study in 1991 that showed that teenagers from low-income families were almost twice as likely to work in a hazardous industry (e.g., construction) than those from high-income families. Methods: To examine household SES and youth occupation, we analyzed a 1996 survey of a representative sample of Canadians. The sample consisted of 3360 respondents 15 to 24 year olds who were dependents in a household and who had worked in the last 12 months. Occupations for adults and youth were categorized into manual, mixed or non-manual. Household occupational status was defined as the “highest” occupation worked by any adult household member, with non-manual being the highest. Household education refers to the highest degree achieved by any adult household member (excluding the youth). Findings: Households where an adult had a secondary or post-secondary education significantly reduced the likelihood of working in a manual occupation (ORs [CI 95%]=0.58 [0.37,0.90] and 0.60 [0.37,0.99], respectively). Relative to households with at least one non-manual worker, those households with only manual occupations significantly increased the risk of the youth working in a manual occupation (OR=1.61 [1.17,2.77]). Conclusions: These findings implicate household SES as a potential “upstream” determinant of work injuries among youth. Many studies on other health outcomes find an SES gradient. This study suggests that there may be a similar relationship between SES and work injuries among youth.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Occupational Injury and Death,
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.