Abstract
Occupational health and safety issues in child care work were discussed. The characteristics of child care work were described. Papers presented at the Occupational Safety and Health session of the International Conference on Child Day Care Health held in June 1992 were summarized. The papers dealt with communicable diseases, occupational stress, and ergonomic hazards. Child care workers were at risk for infectious diseases such as chicken pox, rubella, and cytomegalovirus. The primary means of transmission were the respiratory and fecal/oral routes. Job stressors such as having to take responsibility for others and face to face interactions were shown to cause burnout in child care workers. Risk factors associated with a high frequency of back injury such as lifting, bending, stooping, squatting, and load carrying were prevalent in child care work. Interventions to reduce job stress among child care workers were reported to be successful. The authors conclude that child care work is associated with a wide range of health and safety hazards, and that effective interventions for reducing or preventing hazards associated with child care work can be developed only when systematic information has been obtained.