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Epidemiology of playground equipment injuries resulting in hospitalization
Author(s) -
CHALMERS D. J.,
LANGLEY J. D.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
journal of paediatrics and child health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.631
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1440-1754
pISSN - 1034-4810
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1754.1990.tb02446.x
Subject(s) - medicine , incidence (geometry) , epidemiology , injury prevention , poison control , occupational safety and health , population , medical emergency , human factors and ergonomics , suicide prevention , emergency medicine , pediatrics , environmental health , physics , pathology , optics
Preparation of the New Zealand Playground Standard was seriously hampered by a lack of published information on the incidence, nature, and circumstances of playground equipment‐related injuries. The present study was aimed at redressing this lack of information. Examination of all discharges from New Zealand public hospitals for 1984 identified 1125 children less than 15 years of age who had been admitted for the treatment of playground equipment‐related injury. This gave an incidence rate of 137/1 children per year. The mean age was 7.2 years. The commonest injury was fracture of the upper limb (48%), followed by intracranial injury (26%). One‐third occurred at school, climbing apparatus (40%) was most often involved, and the great majority involved falls (93%). With this study it has been possible for the first time in any country to report an incidence rate for all causes of playground equipment‐related injuries resulting in hospitalization, based on data for an entire population. The findings support the emphasis placed on falls in the Standard.