Work safety culture of youth farmworkers in North Carolina: a pilot study

We analyzed aspects of the behavioral, situational, and psychological elements of work safety culture of hired youth farmworkers in North Carolina. Data were from interviewer-administered questionnaires completed with 87 male and female hired farmworkers aged 10 to 17 years in North Carolina in 2013...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of public health (1971) 2015-02, Vol.105 (2), p.344-350
Main Authors: Arcury, Thomas A, Kearney, Gregory D, Rodriguez, Guadalupe, Arcury, Justin T, Quandt, Sara A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adolescent Health
Adults
Age Factors
Agriculture
Agriculture - organization & administration
Behavior
Child
Employment
Farms
Farmworkers
Female
Hazardous materials
Hispanics/Latinas
Humans
Immigrants
Industrial safety
Injuries
Interviews
Low-Income Children
Male
Minority Children
Noncitizens
North Carolina
Occupational accidents
Occupational Health
Occupational Health - statistics & numerical data
Occupational Injuries - prevention & control
Occupational safety
Organizational Culture
Perceptions
Pesticides
Pilot Projects
Public health
Questionnaires
Research and Practice
Rural Health
Safety management
Sexual harassment
Studies
Teenagers
Trauma
Workers
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:We analyzed aspects of the behavioral, situational, and psychological elements of work safety culture of hired youth farmworkers in North Carolina. Data were from interviewer-administered questionnaires completed with 87 male and female hired farmworkers aged 10 to 17 years in North Carolina in 2013. We computed means, SDs, and Cronbach α values for the perceived work safety climate and safety perception summary scores. Hired youth farmworkers in North Carolina described a negative work safety culture. Most engaged in unsafe general and unsafe work behaviors, few received training, and many were sexually harassed at work. They had mixed safety attitudes and knew that their employment was precarious. They reported a poor perceived work safety climate characterized by the perception that their supervisors "are only interested in doing the job fast and cheaply." However, we could not detect statistically significant associations between work safety culture and injuries among these farmworkers. Increased scrutiny of agriculture as a suitable industry for workers as young as 10 years and additional regulations to protect hired youth farmworkers, if not to remove them from this environment, are warranted. Additional research is needed.
ISSN:0090-0036
1541-0048
DOI:10.2105/AJPH.2014.302254