Workplace experiences of young workers in Ontario.

OBJECTIVE: We examine the workplace experiences of Ontario youth in the service sector, with a particular interest in hazard exposures, safety training and supervision. METHOD: A cross-sectional telephone survey in 2008 of working youth aged 14-18. Items queried respondents about the tasks performed, worker training and supervision. The study parallels one already published in the US. This is the first Canadian study of its kind. RESULTS: Although teens reported working more hours during vacation, a substantial number of youth are working at least 20 hours per week when school is in session, and many reported having worked after 11 pm on a night before school. Young workers engaged in a variety of hazardous tasks, including heavy lifting, using sharp objects, working with hot equipment, or working around falling objects. A small subset (7.5%) of teens had suffered an injury at work that was severe enough to cause them to miss a day of school or work or require medical attention. The majority of workers had received training on how to use equipment safely and how to avoid an injury. More females than males received training. Although regular check-ins were common, many youth (38%) said they had worked at least part of the day without supervision. Young females were most likely to work without supervision or to work alone. CONCLUSION: This study questions whether the regulations in Ontario are sufficient to protect young workers from exposures to work-related hazards.

Seniors Falls Investigative Methodology (SFIM): a systems approach to the study of falls in seniors.

An in-depth understanding of human factors and human error is lacking in current research on seniors' falls. Additional knowledge is needed to understand why seniors are falling. The purpose of this article is to describe the adapting of the Integrated Safety Investigation Methodology (ISIM) (used for investigating transportation and industrial accidents) to studying seniors' falls. An adapted version-the Seniors Falls Investigative Methodology (SFIM)-uses a systems approach to take an investigation beyond the immediate cause of an incident and reveal unsafe acts and deeply imbedded unsafe conditions that contribute to adverse outcomes. An example case study is used to describe six phases of the investigative process in detail. The SFIM has the potential to identify safety deficiencies; utilize existing knowledge about falls; establish a standardized reporting system; shift focus from the faller to the system; and guide targeted prevention.

Support sources of adolescents in families adopting older children.

The social supports of adolescents in families adopting school-aged children are explored. The perception of support provided by parents was related to severity of problems experienced with the new adoptee. Findings suggest that mothers, more than fathers or friends, are pivotal in adolescents' support systems following such adoptions.

Utilization of the Seniors Falls Investigation Methodology to identify system-wide causes of falls in community-dwelling seniors.

PURPOSE: As a highly heterogeneous group, seniors live in complex environments influenced by multiple physical and social structures that affect their safety. Until now, the major approach to falls research has been person centered. However, in industrial settings, the individuals involved in an accident are seen as the inheritors of system defects. The objective of the present study was to investigate safety deficiencies that contributed to falls in community-dwelling seniors using a systems approach. DESIGN AND METHODS: The investigations were conducted using the Seniors Falls Investigation Methodology (SFIM), an adapted version of a method used to examine transportation accidents, such as airplane crashes. Fifteen seniors, who experienced a fall or near fall, participated in multiple case studies. A cross-case synthesis was used to summarize findings and identify common patterns of causes and safety deficiencies. RESULTS: Falls and near falls are a result of latent unsafe conditions, and unsafe acts and decisions combined in a diverse set of circumstances. If not identified and removed, these unsafe conditions can cause falls for other seniors. IMPLICATIONS: This study provided compelling evidence that causes of falling are systemic and develop over time. It demonstrated that the systems approach is needed to expand the focus from the individual to multilayered organizational and supervisory causes. The SFIM demonstrated capability to identify causes of falls that will allow better prevention and management programs, hence advancing seniors' safety. SFIM shows great potential for implementation in organized settings, such as hospitals and long-term care homes.