Machines and microbes: still serious hazards to youths on the farm
Article Abstract:
Agriculture is the only industry in the US that permits young persons to work with, and play around dangerous machinery. Regulations, commonplace in other industries and work settings, restrict the involvement of children and are enforced by statutes and labor agreements. Family farms with less than 11 non-family workers are not within the jurisdiction of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). In short, very few restrictions or protective regulations govern the work and activity of children on farms. The records of the National Safety Council eliminate data of farm- and agriculture-related fatalities of persons younger than 14 years of age. A committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics reported that the highest rate of farm injuries occurred in persons 10 to 19 years of age. Farm vehicles, machines with moving parts, and pointed farm tools are most frequently implicated in agricultural injuries. The intrusive, tearing injuries are usually invaded by any number of different bacteria and, because of the volume of the inoculum, produce severe infections. Treatment usually requires costly hospitalization, with extensive antibiotic therapy, and frequent surgical intervention to mechanically clean away dead tissue and allow healing. The usual delay in treatment, because of work load, and the lack of available emergency and follow-up medical care add to the cost of each injury. These costs are substantially higher than similar injury-related costs in urban settings, yet less prevention schemes are available for children working in rural and farm areas. Efforts to fill this glaring void are being initiated at the New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health in Cooperstown, NY. The National Farm Medical Center in Wisconsin has prepared educational videos on safety, safe handling of farm machinery, and appropriate responses to accidents, which are directed at high school students in farming communities. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: American Journal of Diseases of Children
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0002-922X
Year: 1990
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Behavioral adaptation to human immunodeficiency virus-seropositive status in children and adolescents with hemophilia
Article Abstract:
Infection with HIV among children and adolescents with hemophilia does not appear to affect their behavior, at least initially. About 4% of all diagnosed cases of AIDS are among hemophiliac children; the percentage rises to 34% when teenagers with hemophilia are included. Of 46 children and adolescents with hemophilia, 18 were HIV-positive and 28 were HIV-negative. None of the HIV-infected patients showed any symptoms of AIDS. There were no significant differences between the two groups in parental ratings of social competence nor in clinical measures of behavior disorders. When mood was assessed however, HIV-positive children aged six to 11 had higher ratings of depression and anxiety than HIV-negative children in that age group. Surprisingly, HIV-negative patients scored higher on the immaturity scale.
Publication Name: American Journal of Diseases of Children
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0002-922X
Year: 1993
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