Removing the HOOA Family Farm Exemption: Impact on Injury

摘要

We evaluated the potential for preventing the occurrence of pediatric farm injuries by changing the United States Federal Child Labor Laws, Hazardous Occupations Order for Agriculture (Hazardous Orders). Methods: A retrospective case series of 1193 pediatric farm injury cases from the United States and Canada was assembled. The Hazardous Orders were systematically applied to each individual case and preventability was estimated. Results: A total of 286/1193 (24%) cases involved family members engaged in farm work. Of these, one-third of children younger than 16 years and 36% of the 16- and 17-year-olds were performing work prohibited under the Hazardous Orders. Conclusions: Study findings suggest that removing the family farm exemption from the Hazardous Orders and changing the age restriction from 16 to 18 years would be efficacious in preventing the most serious injuries experienced by pediatric family workers and would meet Healthy People 2010 goals for reducing traumatic injury in the agricultural sector.