Work-related injuries among child street-laborers in Latin America: prevalence and predictors.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the prevalence and nature of occupational injuries among children working in the streets of four major cities in Latin America, as well as to identify factors that predict these work-related injuries.


METHODS
This cross-sectional study interviewed 584 children from 5-17 years of age working on the streets of Bogotá, Colombia; Lima, Peru; Quito, Ecuador; and São Paulo, Brazil. Descriptive analyses and multivariate logistic regressions were conducted, with incidence and serious injuries regressed on occupational and sociodemographic variables.


RESULTS
Approximately 39.6% of the child street-laborers surveyed reported an injury sustained while working in the streets: scratches (19.5%), cuts/lacerations (16.4%), burns (8.6%), car accidents (8.9%), sprains (4.6%), and amputations (0.3%). Working a high number of daytime hours and performing on the street predicted the greatest risk of injury, even after controlling for sociodemographic factors; specifically, each additional hour of daytime work increased the risk of injury by 1.4%. Child performers had three times the injury rate of children primarily selling products. Boys, older children, and children in Quito were more likely to experience moderate-to-severe injuries, than girls, younger children, and street children in the other study cities.


CONCLUSIONS
Interventions are needed to address the substantial risk of injury experienced by children working on the city streets of Latin America.
Pinzon-Rondon
Angela Maria
AM
Department of Family Science, University of Maryland at College Park, College Park, MD 20742, USA. ampinzon@umd.edu
Koblinsky
Sally A
SA
Hofferth
Sandra L
SL
Pinzon-Florez
Carlos E
CE
Briceno
Leonardo
L
D000062:Accidents, Occupational / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004651:Employment; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D013020:South America / Q000453:epidemiology; D014505:Urban Population