Child care workers and workplace hazards in the United States: Overview of research and implications for occupational health professionals

In the past, the hazards facing child care workers have largely been ignored by health and safety professionals, due in part to a lack of awareness of hazards and inconsistencies in state health and safety requirements. The aim of this paper is to provide a summary and critique of the literature on the topic of occupational health and safety concerns for child care workers. Twenty-seven articles pertaining to child care workers, published between 1980 and 1998, were reviewed. The job roles and tasks related to physical care, janitorial functions and participation in child recreation lead to risk of exposure to biological, physical and chemical hazards. Psychological stressors were found to contribute to high levels of job dissatisfaction and turnover. Infectious disease transmission was the major topic of focus in the literature, whereas US statistical data for illnesses and injuries for this classification of workers revealed injuries as the prominent health problem. Directions for future research are described.