Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Jan;63(1):135-145.
doi: 10.1177/00099228231172482. Epub 2023 May 22.

Epidemiological Characteristics of School Playground Injuries

Eric A Kennedy  1   2 , Drew A Filchner  1 , Zane D Patterson  1 , Heather M Olsen  2   3
Affiliations

Epidemiological Characteristics of School Playground Injuries

Eric A Kennedy et al. Clin Pediatr (Phila). 2024 Jan.

Abstract

Reports of children's play-related injuries have remained stagnant according to epidemiology studies of the past 3 decades. This article provides a unique look into the context of playground injuries within an entire school district, demonstrating the prevalence of these injuries. This study reports that playgrounds are the leading location of school injury, comprising one-third of all elementary school injuries. This study found that while head/neck injuries were the most commonly injured body region within the playground environment, the proportion of head/neck injuries decreased with age, whereas the proportion of extremity injuries increased with age. At least 1 upper extremity injury required outside medical attention for every 4 that were treated on-site, making upper extremity injuries roughly twice as likely to require outside medical attention as injuries to other body regions. The data in this study are useful for interpreting injury patterns in the context and evaluation of existing safety standards for playgrounds.

Keywords: child; emergency department; injury; pediatric; playground; school.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Distribution of injured body region by age ranges, occurring on elementary school playgrounds. Each body region (head/neck, upper extremity, trunk, lower extremity, and other/unknown) coded to the key to the right.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Percentage of grade II injuries from total injuries by body region, occurring on elementary school playgrounds. Grade II injuries reflect injuries treated by emergency services or other health care professionals outside of the school district.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Percentage of grade II injuries from total injuries by age ranges, occurring on elementary school playgrounds. Grade II injuries reflect injuries treated by emergency services or other health care professionals outside of the school district.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Schwebel DC, Brezausek CM. Child development and pediatric sport and recreational injuries by age. J Athl Train. 2014;49(6):780-785. doi:10.4085/1062-6050-49.3.41 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Zonfrillo MR, Spicer RS, Lawrence BA, Miller TR. Incidence and costs of injuries to children and adults in the United States. Inj Epidemiol. 2018;5(1):37. doi:10.1186/s40621-018-0167-6 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Nabavizadeh B, Hakam N, Holler JT, et al. Epidemiology of child playground equipment-related injuries in the USA: emergency department visits, 1995-2019. J Paediatr Child Health. 2022;58:69-76. doi:10.1111/jpc.15644 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Adelson SL, Chounthirath T, Hodges NL, Collins CL, Smith GA. Pediatric playground-related injuries treated in hospital emergency departments in the United States. Clin Pediatr (Phila). 2018;57(5):584-592. doi:10.1177/0009922817732144 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Keays G, Skinner R. Playground equipment injuries at home versus those in public settings: differences in severity. Inj Prev. 2012;18(2):138-141. doi:10.1136/injuryprev-2011-040240 - DOI - PubMed