Work related injuries and diseases among workers younger than 14 years old in Chile

Introduction
In Chile the legal age for formal work is 14 years old with parental permission. These young workers are entitled to the insurance provided by law to all formal workers, therefore if injured at work they can get medical attention at one of the three chilean workers compensation companies. This study shows the incidence of work related injuries in workers 14 to 18 years of age from 2008 to 2010 at the Asociación Chilena de Seguridad. A description of economic activities , injuries, lost work days and compensations required is provided.

Methods
Statistics for years 2008 to 2010 were reviewed and all cases in workers in this group age were selected.

Results
Every year there are more than 1000 young workers who get injured at work, most of them with acute injuries due to inexperience which suggest lack of appropriatte training for the job. Many of them are students on their summer practices or people at the beggining of their working life.

Discussion
A primary discussion in whether young people should work at all, however given the fact that they do work formally they should be well protected against occupational risks. Special information and trainning needs to be in place for young workers and everytime there is an injured worker in this age group, action needs to be taken in order to protect other workers in the same working condition. One proposal is inmediate report to the prevention officers in charge of the companies safety everytime a young workers seeks medical attention for a work related disease or injury in order to put in place proper prevention measures and personal protective equipment. It is also necessary to develop safety programs in high school, so general information on risk prevention is given to students who will be future workers.