Have young workers more injuries than older ones? An international literature review

Abstract

Problem: Two questions were posed in this global literature review: Do young workers have a higher occupational injury rate? Are the injuries of young workers more often fatal than those of older workers?

Method: The studies of nonfatal and fatal injuries were collected based on the following criteria: (a) published in peer-reviewed journals; (b) the young workers were under 25 years of age; (c) the injury rate or fatality rate of young workers and the overall rate was published; and (d) description of the population and the number of injuries was presented.

Results: The majority of 63 nonfatal studies reported showed that young workers had a higher injury rate than older workers. Twenty-nine out of 45 studies on fatal occupational injuries indicated that young workers had a lower fatality rate than older workers. These results are clearer for men than for women.

Impact on industry: The results showed that young men were a risk group for occupational injuries. However, the injuries of young workers were reported as less often fatal than those of older workers.