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Child day care and home injuries involving playground equipment
J B Kotch1, D J Chalmers, J D Langley
1Department of Maternal and Child Health, University of North Carolina, School of Public Health, Chapel Hill 27599-7400.
Insights
Playground equipment causes many injuries in young children, with falls being common. Home playgrounds caused more injuries than child care facilities, but swings were linked to head injuries in day care settings.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric safety
- Injury prevention
- Public health
Background:
- Child day care attendance is rising, increasing concerns about pediatric safety.
- Falls are the primary cause of injuries in child day care settings.
- Playground equipment is frequently implicated in fall-related injuries among young children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze hospital admissions for playground equipment-related injuries in New Zealand children under five.
- To compare injuries sustained at home versus child care facilities.
- To identify specific equipment and injury patterns.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of hospital admission data.
- Study period: 1979–1988.
- Inclusion criteria: Children under 5 years old with injuries from playground equipment at home or child care.
Main Results:
- 528 home-related and 145 child care-related playground injuries were recorded.
- Fractures were the most frequent injury type.
- The head was the most commonly injured body region, with lower limb injuries being the most severe.
- Swings were disproportionately associated with head injuries in child care settings.
Conclusions:
- Playground equipment poses a significant injury risk to young children, both at home and in child care.
- Differences in equipment types contribute to variations in injury patterns between home and child care settings.
- Targeted safety interventions for playground equipment, particularly swings, are needed to reduce head injuries in child care.
Abstract:
The increasing number of children attending child day care has led to a corresponding concern for their safety in the absence of parental care. Previous studies have documented that the majority of injuries occurring in child day care involve falls, and that the most common consumer product associated with such falls is playground equipment. This study describes New Zealand children less than 5 years of age admitted to hospital between 1979 and 1988 for injuries associated with playground equipment located at home or a child care facility. There were 528 hospitalized home injuries involving playground equipment, and 145 such day care injuries. Fractures were the most common injury, and the head was the most commonly involved body region. Lower limb injuries were the most severe. Among the differences between home and day care injuries were the type of equipment involved. Swings were disproportionately associated with head injuries.