Media
NAGCAT Fact Sheet
Background
Agriculture remains one of the most dangerous occupations in North America.
Unintentional injury can occur when adults and children mistake physical
size and age for ability, and underestimate levels of risk and hazard.
In non-agricultural industries, there are regulations and work standards
that indicate appropriate work for both adults and children. In agriculture there are no
such standards and children are often assigned farm jobs based on parents' past
practices, need for "extra hands" to get the job done, and preferences of the
child and/or parent.
Purpose
The Guidelines were developed to assist adults in assigning safe and appropriate farm jobs
to children 7 to 16 years.
The Guidelines were developed at the request of parents in the
farming and ranching community. Also, in 1996, the National Committee for Childhood
Agricultural Injury Prevention called for the establishment of work guidelines for
children as a foundation on which to build other safety strategies.
Methods
A project team from the United States, Canada, and Mexico used the process of consensus
development to generate guideline content. Extensive reviews of existing literature were
conducted. Discussions with groups of farm parents and teen workers were convened.
Multi-disciplinary specialists provided feedback relating to accuracy of content.
A job hazard analysis framework was used to document
variables associated with the range of agricultural jobs. Variables include:
- hazards
- injury/disease concerns
- recommended procedures
- approximate age
- level of adult supervision
- training required
The job hazard analysis was enhanced with a checklist to include the
physical, cognitive and psychosocial abilities of children in relation to the variables of
the job hazard analysis framework.
- childhood growth and development
- current agricultural practices
- childhood injury prevention
- occupational safety
Results
The following educational resources were rendered from NAGCAT project
results:
The NAGCAT Parent Resource posters are grouped into
booklets based on job type. Each booklet contains 6 to 10 posters. Booklets include:
- animal care
- tractor fundamentals
- implement operations
- manual labor
- haying operations
- general activities
- specialty production
A booklet with six jobs translated into Spanish is also available.
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Each NAGCAT Parent Resource posters contains:
- job illustration
- adult responsibilities
- main hazards
- safety reminders
- developmental checklist
- recommended supervision
The Professional Resource Manual
includes a:
- comprehensive description of findings from the consensus development process
- job hazard analysis framework for 62 jobs
- child developmental checklist for 62 jobs
- professional training module
Recommendations
The guidelines can be used by:
- parents
- agricultural safety specialists
- educators
- youth groups
- health professionals
- farm organizations
- public health professionals
- media
Suggested uses of the guidelines:
- post in a prominent location for frequent, convenient reference
- promote developmentally appropriate curricula at youth safety events
- incorporate into program development
- understand the risks and hazards of different farm jobs
- utilize as a vital component in existing agricultural safety resources
- educate the media about occupational injury prevention among youth
- encourage parent's participation in assessing a child's readiness for work
Contact the National Children's Center for Rural
and Agricultural Health and Safety for ways to use the guidelines.
Helping kids do the job safely is our goal!
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