Conference Proceedings: Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders for Children and Adolescents Working in Agriculture

The purpose of this document is to provide a summary of a national conference that was held in Cincinnati, Ohio, May 6-7, 2002. The conference, co-sponsored by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the Great Lakes Center for Agricultural Safety and Health at Ohio State University, brought together national experts from across the United States to discuss research needs regarding prevention of WMSDs for children and adolescents working in agriculture. The agricultural safety and health experts who attended the meeting identified specific topic areas regarding WMSDs among children and adolescents working in agriculture for which little or no research exists. The research areas explored at the meeting included:

• identification of potentially high risk jobs;
• quantification of the level of risk for jobs performed by children and adolescents in agriculture;
• development, evaluation, and implementation of surveillance systems for measuring and tracking the magnitude of health effects and risks for children and adolescents working in agriculture; and
• development and evaluation of ergonomic interventions for reducing risk of WMSDs for children and adolescents working in agriculture. It should be noted that this meeting specifically excluded injuries attributed to traumatic events, such as cuts, abrasions, lacerations, and injuries associated with instantaneous events, such as slips, trips, falls, and being struck by objects.

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