Workplace and non-workplace homicides in the United States (U.S.) have declined for over 30 years until recently. This study was conducted to address the change in trends for both workplace and non-workplace homicides and to evaluate the homogeneity of the change in workplace homicides by specified categories. Joinpoint and autoregressive models were used to assess trends of U.S. workplace and non-workplace homicides utilizing surveillance data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Federal Bureau of Investigation from 1994 through 2021. Both workplace and non-workplace homicides decreased significantly from 1994 through 2014. Workplace homicides showed no significant trend from 2014 through 2021 (p = 0.79), while non-workplace homicides showed a significant average annual increase of 4.1% from 2014 through 2020 (p = 0.0013). The large decreases in the trend of workplace homicides occurring during a criminal act, such as robbery, leveled off and started to increase by the end of the study period (p < 0.0001). Declines in workplace homicides due to shootings also leveled off and started to increase by the end of the study period (p < 0.0001). U.S. workplace and non-workplace homicide rates declined from the 1990s until around 2014. Trends in workplace homicides varied by the types of the homicide committed and by the type of employee that was the victim. Criminal-intent-related events, such as robbery, appear to be the largest contributor to changes in workplace homicides. Researchers and industry leaders could develop and evaluate interventions that further address criminal-intent-related workplace homicides.

OBJECTIVE: Home care workers are a critical resource contributing to the well-being of others. Presented are data on home care workers (HCWs) nonfatal emergency department-treated (ED) injuries. METHODS: Nonfatal injuries among HCWs were extracted from the NEISS-Work data between 2015 and 2020. RESULTS: Review of NEISS-Work data indicated 117,000 HCWs with nonfatal ED-treated injuries; female HCWs accounted for 93%. Overexertion and bodily reactions accounted for 52% of the injuries. Violence and other injuries by persons or animals accounted for 15% and falls, slips, and trips also accounted for 15% of the HCWs ED-treated injuries. CONCLUSION: The growing demand for home care services is increasing the number of workers at risk for injury. Future analyses should prioritize injury events among HCWS to gain a better understanding of the events contributing to injuries among HCWs.

OBJECTIVE: To examine sharps injury (SI) rates among U.S. workers treated in hospital emergency departments. METHODS: A national probability-based sample of approximately 67 U.S. hospital emergency departments from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System - Occupational Supplement was used to examine annual national estimates of SI rates (number of injuries/10,000 full-time equivalents) for U.S. workers from 2006-2020. RESULTS: Among the general U.S. worker population, the 25-34-year age group experienced the highest annual SI rate. Healthcare industry workers experienced SI rates up to 16 times the rate of all U.S. workers. CONCLUSION: Younger age (≤34 years) is associated with increased SI risk. Tailored prevention efforts should be developed to address the specific needs of these workers, especially among healthcare workers. Continual occupational surveillance will maximize the health and safety of U.S. workers.

BACKGROUND: Acute nonfatal occupational inhalation injuries are caused by exposures to airborne toxicants and contaminants in the workplace. A 1990s study found that US emergency department (ED)-based inhalation injury rates were higher than those seen in the United Kingdom and Canada. This study examines 4 years of hospital ED data to estimate current rates of occupational inhalation injuries. METHODS: Data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System Occupational Supplement were used to identify nonfatal occupational inhalation injuries treated in US hospital EDs from 2014 to 2017. A workplace inhalation injury was defined as any worker treated in an ED as a result of inhaling a harmful substance at work. RESULTS: From 2014 to 2017, there were an estimated 2.2 occupational inhalation injuries per 10,000 full-time equivalents (FTE) (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.6-2.8) treated in EDs, a rate nearly four times that found in Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Although men incurred 60% (95% CI: 56%-64%) of the injuries, the overall injury rates for men and women were similar at 2.3 (95% CI: 1.7-2.9) and 2.1 (95% CI: 1.4-2.7) per 10,000 FTE, respectively. By age group, workers less than 25 years of age were at greater risk of injury at 4.1 injuries per 10,000 FTE (95% CI: 2.8-5.3). CONCLUSIONS: These results illustrate the burden of nonfatal occupational inhalation injuries, providing an understanding of how injuries are distributed based on demographics. While inhalation injury rates have declined over the last two decades, additional research is needed to determine whether interventions have reduced risk, or if the availability of alternate sources of medical treatment is a factor.

HIGHLIGHTS The total number of injuries to all youth on farms consistently declined during the 14-year period from 2001 to 2014. Injuries to household farm youth, after initial declines, increased in 2012 and 2014. Although progress in farm youth safety has been made, farms continue to be hazardous places for youth. ABSTRACT. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) conducted injury surveillance for youth on U.S. farms for two decades to measure childhood injury burden, track injury trends, and monitor hazardous injury exposures. The Childhood Agricultural Injury Survey (CAIS), a regionally stratified telephone survey, collected injury and demographic data for all youth less than 20 years of age on U.S. farms. Results from the 2014 survey are provided. Trend analyses for all survey years were conducted using a Poisson regression model with generalized estimating equations. Rate ratios with corresponding 95% confidence intervals were calculated from the model. In 2014, there were an estimated 11,942 youth farm injuries. Of these, 63% occurred to household youth. Youth between the ages of 10 and 15 incurred the most injuries, and 34% of the injuries were work-related. The total number of injuries to all youth on farms consistently declined during the 14-year period from 2001 to 2014, with annual injury rates ranging from 13.5 to 5.7 per 1,000 farms. The injury rates for household youth decreased through 2009 but increased slightly in 2012 and 2014. Farms continue to be hazardous environments for youth. Although there has been a significant decrease in the overall numbers and rates of youth farm injuries over the past decades, researchers should continue to monitor areas that remain a concern. One area that is specifically troublesome is the increase in injury rates observed for household youth in 2014.

Adolescents and young adults represent approximately 13% of the U.S. workforce (1). Compared with adult workers, young workers (aged 15-24 years) experience higher rates of job-related injury (2,3). To describe injuries among young workers and inform research and prevention activities, CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) analyzed national data for 2012-2018 from the occupational supplement to the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System* (NEISS-Work) and for 2018 from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII).(†) During the 7-year period, an estimated 3.2 million (95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.6-3.7) nonfatal, job-related injuries to young workers were treated in hospital emergency departments (EDs). From 2012 to 2018, annual rates of work-related injuries(§) treated in the ED (ED-treated injuries) declined overall across all age groups but ranged from 1.2 to 2.3 times higher for workers aged 15-24 years compared with those for adults aged 25-44 years. Workers aged 18-19 years had the highest rate of ED-treated injuries. In 2018, among all age groups, workers in service occupations(¶) had the highest percentage of injuries requiring at least 1 day away from work. Among workers aged 15-17 years, those in the leisure and hospitality industry had the highest percentage of work-related injuries requiring at least 1 day away from work. Occupational injuries can have long-term impacts on health (4). The disproportionate risk of injury among young workers highlights the need for sustained, targeted public health efforts to prepare this population with essential workplace safety and health competencies before they enter the workforce and to provide high-quality safety training and close supervision on the job. NIOSH and its partners developed a free curriculum to teach adolescents workplace safety and health competencies, which includes identification of workplace hazards and methods for addressing them, how to understand their rights and responsibilities as workers, and how to voice concerns about work safety issues (5).

Concerns about the purported “skills gap” (a mismatch between the skills workers have and the skills prospective employers want and need) in the United States are widespread. Young people are at the epicenter of debates about the preparedness of the emerging labor force to compete in a dynamic, global economy and are the focus of national efforts to promote skills-based training, apprenticeships, and jobs.1

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), in order to provide injury surveillance for youth on farms in the U.S., partnered with the USDA to conduct the Childhood Agricultural Injury Survey (CAIS). CAIS data for all farm youth less than 20 years of age have been collected intermittently since 1998. CAIS data from 2012 indicated that an estimated 25.9 million youth lived on, worked on, or visited U.S. farms. These youth experienced almost 14,000 injuries while on the farm. The majority of these injuries occurred to males (7,290) and youth between the ages of 10 and 15 years (5,766). Approximately 20% (2,739) of the injuries were related to work being done on the farm. Youth living on the farm incurred 56% (7,784) of the injuries. An additional 5,771 injuries occurred to hired and visiting youth. Although youth injuries on farms have declined, the numbers are still unacceptably high. Additional research and detailed assessments of subsets of the youth population would help to better direct safety intervention programs and focus future research activities.

INTRODUCTION: To obtain injury surveillance data for youth on racial minority operated farms, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health developed the Minority Farm Operator Childhood Agricultural Injury Survey (M-CAIS) in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. METHODS: Using a regionally stratified telephone survey of U.S. minority operated farm households, M-CAIS data were collected for youth less than 20 years of age. RESULTS: There were an estimated 37,443 youth living on racial minority operated U.S. farms in 2008, almost half (46%) of these youth worked on the farm. Racial minority farm operators hired 6,443 youth, and reported an estimated 775,991 youth relative and other visitors on the farm. These youth suffered an estimated 516 injuries (5.9 injuries/1000 farms). CONCLUSIONS: Household youth had an injury rate of 7.8 injuries/1000 household youth and a work-related injury rate of 6.9 injuries/1000 working household youth. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: The research enables agricultural safety and health researchers, practitioners, and educators to identify priorities and design trainings and interventions to minimize the risk of farm hazards to youth on racial minority farm operations in the United States.

In order to provide injury surveillance for youth on farms in the U.S., the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), in partnership with the USDA, developed the Childhood Agricultural Injury Survey (CAIS). CAIS data for all youth less than 20 years of age on farms have been collected for the calendar years of 1998, 2001, 2004, and 2006. CAIS data from 2006 indicated that an estimated 30.7 million youth lived on, worked on, or visited U.S. farms. These youth experienced almost 23,000 injuries while on the farm. The majority of these injuries occurred to males (15,223) and youth between the ages of 10 and 15 years (10,158). Approximately 25% (5,773) of the injuries were related to work being done on the farm. Youth living on the farm incurred 51% (11,654) of the injuries, hired youth sustained 6% (1,363), and 40% were to visiting youth (9,729). Although youth injuries on farms have declined by 30% since 1998, the numbers are still unacceptably high. Further in-depth evaluation of subsets of the youth population may serve to better direct safety intervention programs and research.

BACKGROUND: Tractor overturn deaths have been recognized as a public health concern for decades. Studies have reported on the hazards associated with tractor overturns, but none have reported on trends in tractor overturn fatality rates in the United States (US). METHODS: Tractor overturn fatality data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries were used in Poisson regression models to: identify risk factors associated with overturn fatalities; examine trends in tractor overturn fatality rates between 1992 and 2007; and assess trends in overturn fatality rates for specific risk factors. RESULTS: Characteristics found to be associated with tractor overturn fatality rates were age, type of farm, region, and the victim's relationship to the farm (P < 0.0001). Older age groups, crop farms, farms in the Midwest and Northeast, and family workers all had higher fatal tractor overturn risks. Overall, tractor overturn fatality rates declined 28.5% between 1992 and 2007. Significant decreases in tractor overturn fatality rates were found for the Northeast and South regions, hired workers, crop farms, and in every age group except those less than 25 years of age. CONCLUSIONS: Tractor overturn fatality rates decreased between 1992 and 2007. These decreases were not consistent between different categories of the agricultural workforce or regions of the US. Changes in tractor overturn fatality rates may be partially explained by increases in the prevalence of ROPS on farm tractors in the US. ROPS promotion programs are needed to reduce tractor overturn fatalities, especially among those subpopulations at highest risk.

PURPOSE: To estimate the number and rate of on-farm injuries to youth living on farms in the United States by sex from 1998 to 2006 and compare the trends in youth injury by sex. METHODS: Data from 4 childhood agricultural injury surveys for the years 1998, 2001, 2004, and 2006 were analyzed using a Poisson regression model utilizing generalized estimating equations. Rate ratios with corresponding 95% confidence intervals were calculated from the model, which compared the estimated rates of injury in 2001, 2004, and 2006 to the estimated rate of injury in the baseline year, 1998. RESULTS: There was an overall decline in the estimated number and rate of injuries to youth living on farms from 1998 to 2006, with a linear decline of the rate ratios for all youth on farms that was found to be significant. By sex, the trend in injury rate ratios for male youth significantly declined, while the trend for female youth for the same time period initially increased then returned to the baseline. Nonhomogeneity in trends by age group, work versus nonwork injury, and source of injury was also identified. CONCLUSIONS: Additional surveillance is needed to determine if injury trends to youth living on farms will continue to differ by sex. More detailed data on exposure to hazards for these youth by sex are needed to determine what factors are associated with these disparate injury trends and to design and implement effective interventions to further reduce injuries to youth living on farms.

A dearth of information exists in public health surveillance on the injury burden among Hispanic farm youth in the U.S. In this study, data were collected via a telephone survey with Hispanic farm operators sampled from the 1991 Census of Agriculture active list of farms. There were an estimated 307 nonfatal injuries among an estimated 21,631 youth less than 20 years old living on Hispanic-operated farms in the U.S., 2000. Males accounted for 73% of the injuries and had an injury rate of 20.2 compared to 8.2 per 1,000 for females. Injury rates were higher for work-related incidents than for nonwork, and this relationship was true for both males and females. Work and nonwork injury rates were also similar for youth < 10 and 10-15 years old, but for youth 16-19 years of age, the risk of injury for work-related incidents was higher than for nonwork. Livestock operations had a larger number of injuries and higher injury rates compared to crop operations. These data provide previously unavailable descriptive statistics for both the nonfatal injury burden and population estimate for youth on Hispanic-operated farms.