Work Safe Work Smart: A Curriculum Targeted to Adolescent Health and Safety in the Workplace

When the number of hours worked is taken into consideration, teen workers are injured at a higher rate than adult workers. For those less than 18 years of age, work-related fatal injuries are highest in agriculture, retail trade, and construction. The Work Safe Work Smart curriculum was developed by public health professionals in collaboration with Minnesota teachers to explore occupational health and safety issues with high school students in an effort to reduce injury rates of young workers. In Work Safe Work Smart, students use their personal experience of work-related injury to identify workplace hazards, brainstorm ways to protect workers from hazards, and discuss barriers to making safe choices at work. Students also learn the laws governing work for those under the age of 18. The ultimate goal of this curriculum is to reduce work-related injury and illness by intervening with adolescents to develop a safe and healthy approach to their current and future work activities.

Work Safe Work Smart curriculum goals are to:

• Raise student awareness of agricultural and non-agricultural workplace hazards that cause injuries or illness
  
  
• Equip students with prevention strategies that will protect them from injuries or illness in a variety of workplace settings
  
  
• Raise student awareness of employer/ee rights in the workplace
  
  
• Raise student awareness of the laws and resources available to help maintain those rights
  
  
• Encourage students to be active participants in creating safe and healthy work environments.

Work Safe Work Smart Development and Evaluation

The Work Safe Work Smart curriculum was developed and pilot tested in high schools in three Minnesota counties during 1997-2000. During 2000 - 2004, the Work Safe Work Smart curriculum was evaluated in a large-scale randomized intervention study. Over 4,000 students from 38 Minnesota high schools in 31 counties participated in a study to evaluate the impact of the curriculum on student knowledge, attitudes, and intentions regarding workplace health and safety. The results of this evaluation are summarized at the intervention study page.

The development, evaluation, and dissemination of the Work Safe Work Smart curriculum was made possible by grants R01CCR514360 and R01OH004220 from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The contents of the curriculum and its evaluation and dissemination are soley the responsibility of the Minnesota Department of Health and do not necessarily represent the official views of NIOSH.

Work Safe Work Smart Availability

The Work Safe Work Smart curriculum is available without charge for educational use. While we have exhausted our supply of printed copies, we still have a large supply of posters (22" x 30") and the CD-ROM version (viewable and printable on all computer platforms). Copies are available from the Minnesota Department of Health by emailing requests to workerhealth@health.state.mn.us. The curriculum can also be downloaded - whole or in parts - from this page.