268231 Personal Protective Equipment Use by Special Health Care Needs Students in School-Based Career Programs in New Jersey

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Eric Rubenstein, BS , E.J. Bloustein School of Public Policy and School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
Derek G. Shendell, DEnv, MPH , Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, and Center for School and Community-Based Research and Education, UMDNJ-SPH (and EOHSI), Piscataway, NJ
Stephen Marcella, MD, MPH , Epidemiology, UMDNJ-School of Public Health, Piscataway, NJ
Background: The current literature suggests special health care needs (SHCN) students with individual education plans (IEP) need additional safety lessons and a job placement catered to their personal needs. These students may be injured more often in vocational, career and technical education (CTE) programs, in part because some may lack certain physical abilities making them more prone to incidents. Additionally, observation by a job coach or manager is needed to ensure safety.

Patients and Methods: This project on personal protective equipment (PPE) use among SHCN students and IEP status is a part of the NJ Safe Schools (NJ SS) surveillance on students in vocational and CTE programs. Data were collected from NJ secondary public schools and private schools for the disabled, i.e., reported to NJ SS based on current NJ law 1998 to 2011. Excel was used for data management and analysis.

Results: Among IEP students using PPE, 36% of injuries occurred to the body part PPE was meant to protect, e.g., chemicals leaked into the eye of a student wearing safety goggles. Many injuries among IEP students with PPE came from the architecture and construction career cluster, 62%, while null (blank) responses for PPE were mainly in the education and training career cluster, 69%. Females with an IEP and PPE used were injured less often, and females showed no change by age based on IEP and PPE.

Conclusions: Results suggested SHCN students with IEPs need further job-related training with an increased emphasis on proper selection and fit of PPE.

Learning Areas:
Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Environmental health sciences
Occupational health and safety
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Public health or related education
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
At the end of this presentation, participants will be able to: • Identify the more prevalent types of reported injuries special health care needs (SHCN) students—identified by individualized education plans--in New Jersey (NJ) have risks for, with or without the use of personal protective equipment (PPE). • Describe the reported nature of and causes of injury among SHCN students in career, vocational and technical education programs (CTE) in NJ, even with supervision. • Identify the most prevalent types of PPE reported as used by SHCN students in CTE in NJ, but perhaps not always selected and fit-tested properly.

Keywords: Adolescents, Occupational Safety

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: At UMDNJ-School of Public Health, Dr. Shendell is a tenure-track core faculty member as an Assistant Professor. He is the Director of the NJ Safe Schools Program, which includes injury surveillance, science-to-policy, communications, and many types of training for teachers and administrative professionals in secondary education (public and private) concerning safety and health. He is also the co-Director of the Center for School and Community-Based Research and Education at UMDNJ.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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