The effect of surface and season on playground injury rates

Paediatrics & Child Health, Nov 2012

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The effect of surface and season on playground injury rates

Paediatr Child Health The effect of surface and season on playground injury rates Lara Joan Branson BHSc 0 John Latter MPA FRCPC 0 Gillian R Currie 0 Alberto Nettel-Aguirre PStat 0 Tania Embree MSc 0 Brent Edward Hagel 0 0 LJ Branson, J Latter, GR Currie, A Nettel-Aguirre, T Embree, BE Hagel. The effect of surface and season on playground injury rates. Paediatr Child Health 2012; 17(9):485-489 OBJECTivE: To examine the effect of season on playground surface injury rates. METHOds: Injuries were identified through student incident report forms used in school districts in Calgary (Alberta) and the surrounding area. Playground surface exposure data were estimated based on school enrollment. REsuLT s: A total of 539 injuries were reported during the 2007/2008 school year. Abrasions, bruises and inflammation were the most frequently reported injuries. The head, neck or face were most commonly injured. Injury rates per 1000 student days ranged between 0.018 (rubber crumb in spring) and 0.08 (poured-in-place and natural rock in the fall). Rubber crumb surfacing, compared with natural rock, had a significantly lower rate of injury in the spring, but no other season-surface comparisons were statistically significant. CONCLusiONs: Rates of injury were similar for natural rock, poured-in-place, and crushed rock in the fall and winter. There was some evidence of a lower rate of injury on rubber crumb surfaces in the spring. Children; Injury; Play; School - Etreated in hospital emergency departments for playground ach year, an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 children in Canada are related injuries ( 1 ). In Canada, approximately 2500 children 14 years of age and younger are admitted to hospital for serious injuries resulting from a playground fall every year ( 2 ). Studies show that 67% of playground injuries are caused by falls from equipment to the ground, and that the height of fall is a risk factor for injury ( 3,4 ) and severe injury (5). These falls usually occur from equipment such as monkey bars, track rides and jungle gyms that require upper body strength ( 6,7 ). In Canada, 36% of playground injuries occur on school playgrounds and 57% of playground injuries are sustained by children five to nine years of age (3). Since the introduction of playground safety standards, severe head injuries have become increasingly rare ( 8,9 ). Fracture of the upper extremities is the most common playground injury ( 10,11 ). The Canadian Standards Association, an organization that develops product standards to promote public safety and health, recognizes playground surfacing as one of the main risk factors for playground injury ( 12 ). The literature also shows an increased risk of injury when falling on to a non-impact-absorbing surface ( 4,13 ). To comply with the Canadian Standards Association, surfacing under playground equipment must be able to attenuate impact to a specific standard as measured by the Head Injury Criterion (HIC) and, therefore, reduce the risk of serious injury from a fall. L’effet de la surface et de la saison sur le taux de blessures dans les terrains de jeux OBJECTiF : Examiner l’effet de la saison sur le taux de blessures subies à cause des surfaces des terrains de jeux. MÉTHOdOLOGiE : Les chercheurs ont recensé les blessures grâce aux formulaires d’incidents chez les élèves utilisés, dans les districts scolaires de Calgary (Alberta) et de la région avoisinante. Ils ont évalué les données d’exposition aux surfaces de jeu d’après les inscriptions à l’école. RÉsuLTAT s : Au total, 539 blessures ont été déclarées pendant l’année scolaire 2007-2008. La blessure la plus courante était une abrasion, une ecchymose ou une inflammation. La tête, le cou ou le visage étaient les plus touchés. Le taux de blessures sur 1 000 jours-élèves variait entre 0,018 (miettes de caoutchouc au printemps) et 0,08 (béton coulé et roche naturelle à l’automne). Par rapport à la roche naturelle, les surfaces de miettes de caoutchouc s’associaient à un taux de blessures beaucoup moins élevé au printemps, mais aucune autre comparaison des surfaces selon les saisons n’était statistiquement significative. CONCLusiONs : Le taux de blessures était similaire pour la roche naturelle, le béton coulé et la roche concassée à l’automne et pendant l’hiver. On remarquait certaines données probantes quant à un taux moins élevé de blessures sur les surfaces de miettes de caoutchouc au printemps. Studies investigating surface-specific injury rates show an increased risk of injury when falling onto a non-impact-absorbing surface. Sosin et al ( 14 ) found the injury rate for asphalt to be six times that of sand, with rubber mats and gravel having rates twice that of sand. Mott et al ( 6 ) confirmed the protective effect of impact-absorbing surfaces, finding concrete to have an injury rate five times that of rubber. Chalmers et al ( 4 ) obtained similar results, finding the likelihood of being injured in a fall on a n (...truncated)


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Branson, Lara Joan, Latter, John, Currie, Gillian R, Nettel-Aguirre, Alberto, Embree, Tania, Hagel, Brent Edward. The effect of surface and season on playground injury rates, Paediatrics & Child Health, 2012, pp. 485-489, Volume 17, Issue 9, DOI: 10.1093/pch/17.9.485