Playground injuries in children

Abstract

Background: Rapid urbanization and unplanned population development can be detrimental to the safety of citizens, with children being a particularly vulnerable social group. In this review, we assess childhood playground injuries and suggest safety mechanisms which could be incorporated into playground planning. Methods: Inclusion criteria were "children" as the focus group, "playground" as the main field of study, and "unintentional injury" and "safety" as the concepts of study. The keywords used for the PubMed search were "playground", "children", and "injury". Initially we accessed 182 articles. After screening according to inclusion criteria, 86 articles were found, and after reading the abstracts and then the full text, 14 articles were finally included for analysis. The papers reviewed included four case-control studies, three case studies, three descriptive studies, two interventional studies, one retrospective study, one cross-sectional study, and one systematic review. Results: Playground-related fractures were the most common accidents among children, underscoring the importance of safety promotion and injury prevention in playgrounds, lowrisk equipment and playing hours (week days associated with higher risk), implementation of standards, preventing falls and fall-related fractures, and addressing concerns of parents about unsafe neighborhoods. With the exception of one study, all of the reviewed papers had not implemented any practical safety plan. Safe engineering approaches were also ignored. Conclusion: We recommend a systematic safety approach based on the "safety circle" which includes three main areas, ie, equipment, environment, and children.

The health consequences of child mental health problems and parenting styles: Unintentional injuries among European schoolchildren

“…These findings, in the context of previous literature, underscore the health consequences of childhood externalizing problems, suggesting a need for focused prevention and intervention efforts, to reduce consequences of childhood externalizing symptoms. These include empirically based treatments for symptoms of ADHD and oppositional problems (Frick and Nigg, 2012; Hazell, 2010; Villodas et al, 2012) and global efforts to provide children high sensation seeking preferences outlets that are safe and monitored (Naeini et al, 2011). …”

Evaluation of Risk Factors for the Occurrence of Limb Fractures in Children Due to Unintentional Injury in Podgorica, Montenegro, Mediterranean

“…Joeris et al reported that traffic-related fractures were most common in children aged 11-17 years old, which was similarly proven by Mulugeta et al [24,35]. Playgrounds are mostly occupied by children of preschool age, so injuries and fractures that took place there are related to the children up to 6 years old [24,36]. The claim of some authors that at least one third of children experience a fracture by the age of 16 or before the age of 17 is very worrying [2,3].…”

“And I still remember it to this day”: A qualitative exploration of retrospective memories of school-based recess

“…Some research and policies have shifted from physical injury prevention [ 44 , 45 ] to promoting risky play for social and emotional health [ 34 , 36 ]. Yet, despite benefits, risky play has been declining over time [ 34 ], with parents, teachers, and supervisors expressing uncertainty about the safety of their children [ 46 , 47 ].…”