Special Issue of Youth Safety in Ag From Children’s Center for Rural Agricultural Health and Safety Published

Tuesday, October 31st, 2023 -- 9:01 AM

A changing world and a milestone anniversary led to the publication of an extensive collection of international research papers, reports and editorials related to youth agricultural safety.

“Safeguarding Youth from Agricultural Injury and Illness: International Perspectives,” edited by the National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety, has been published by the open-access journal, Frontiers in Public Health.

The special issue includes 29 manuscripts from Argentina, Australia, Burkina Faso, Canada, Ireland, Israel, Lithuania, Nigeria, Sweden, United Kingdom and United States. Its content is also available as an e-book. Simply go to the special issue page and click the “download e-pub” tab.

The special issue began two years ago when Frontiers invited Barbara Lee, Ph.D., director of the National Children’s Center, Marshfield Clinic Research Institute, to serve as a guest editor. Lee suggested an edition dedicated to youth agricultural safety.

At the same time, the National Children’s Center was celebrating its 25th anniversary. “What’s changed in the past 25 years is our network of colleagues. I approached Frontiers with a new concept,” Lee said, to feature international perspectives on children, agriculture, safety, and health in one publication.

“Even before the National Children’s Center was established, Marshfield was the hub of discussion for child agricultural injury prevention. We held the first national gathering on the topic in 1992,” Lee said.

Lee assembled a team of Marshfield-based colleagues as editors, along with two international editors, Peter Lundqvist, Ph.D., professor at Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden, and Richard Franklin, Ph.D., professor at James Cook University, Townsville, Australia.

Marshfield Clinic Research Institute editors included: National Farm Medicine Center Director and Research Scientist Casper Bendixsen, Ph.D.; and associate research scientists Bryan Weichelt, Ph.D., Florence Becot, Ph.D., and Andrea Swenson, Ph.D. Research Coordinator Christopher Benny served as topic coordinator, promoting the call for papers and working with the editorial board and authors.

“Now we want to take some of the bigger messages of what we learned from compiling this special issue to international audiences,” Lee said. Themes emerging from the special issue include the need for more comprehensive injury data, the role of public policy, and an examination of regulations regarding children working in agriculture.

“As we begin to share these international perspectives, we’re asking how we can best work together,” Lee said. “For instance, do we develop an international action plan? We definitely need to share and modify resources that have been effective, such as evidence-based work guidelines for youth.”

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