Page 12 - Delaware Medical Journal - February 2018

A Descriptive Study of Playground Equipment Injuries at a Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center, 2009-2016
Kirsten M. Woolpert; Sean M. Elwell, MSN, RN, NE-BC, TCRN, EMT; Jennifer McCue; Stephen Murphy, MD
Though playgrounds are a great way to stay active, they also put children at an increased risk for injury. Throughout the state of Delaware, falls from playground equipment continue to be prevalent. With this study, playground injury data obtained between 2009 and 2016 were analyzed using a trauma registry at a Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center located in Delaware. The purpose of this study was to describe trends, rates, patient demographics, and injury characteristics. A total of 666 children aged 18 years or younger were included in the study. The mean age of these patients was 6 years old. Of the injuries, 71 percent occurred in a public setting, most often on the monkey bars (38 percent). Within this study population, most patients were diagnosed with a fracture (88 percent), of which over half were a supracondylar fracture of the humerus. Overall, the prevalence of severe playground injury was high, indicating that playgrounds in the area may be unsafe or that there is a need for playground injury prevention interventions.
Key words: Injuries, Injury prevention, Pediatrics, Pediatric trauma, Playground, Playground equipment
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Del Med J | February 2018 | Vol. 90 | No. 2
Abstract