Musculoskeletal discomfort, injuries, and tasks accomplished by children and adolescents in Wisconsin fresh market vegetable production
2003
Little or no research is available about the tasks that children and adolescents
perform in small scale, fresh market vegetable production. A mail questionnaire was
administered in an exploratory study to an age–stratified, convenience sample of children
and adolescents age 5 to 18 (n = 81) who were working on Wisconsin fresh market vegetable
operations.
Children and adolescents reported averaging 349 hours of farm work last year. Youths
completed over 1/5 of all the tractor operation and produce loading and unloading that was
completed by adults or children on their farms; 1/7 of the weeding, produce washing, and
packing; and 1/12 of the hand harvesting during typical weeks when they worked. Fifty
percent of 15–18 year olds reported experiencing low back discomfort in the last year, and
25% reported disabling discomfort.
Children and adolescents performed the same range of tasks and often the same scope of
work as adults. Further investigation with larger, more representative youth samples is
needed to confirm these findings.
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