School Injuries and Preventive Policies and Programs

Abstract

Background: Injuries are a major source of morbidity and mortality throughout childhood and many occur on school premises. Differences in policies, programs and practises at the level of school boards or individual schools may account for some of the differences in injury rates among schools. Methods:We used data from the Montreal Children's Hospital to identify children injured at school. By telephone interview, we identified the school attended and calculated injury rates per school for the study year. A questionnaire to principals identified practises and programs. The two data sets were merged and the data analyzed using cross tabulations and logistic regression.Results: Nearly one third of the 310 injured children required admission or follow up. Most involved falls, boys, 10-14 year olds, and sports. The variables associated with higher rates of injuries were: school board (English), proximity to hospital, wood gym flooring, gym use during breaks, presence of a playing field, frequent checks of field surface, and the presence of an injury prevention program. Using logistic regression, after controlling for all other variables in the model, only school board and distance to hospital remained significant. Conclusion:These findings provide little support for the notion that school policies influence injury rates. If anything, they suggest that the reverse may be true; i.e., that injury rates help stimulate schools to take certain preventive actions. An alternative explanation is that many of the differences observed among schools simply reflect differences in the extent to which their pupils are exposed to the risk of injury because of, for example, the availability of sports facilities.La traduction du résumé se trouve à la fin de l'article.

Incidence and outcomes of school‐based injuries during four academic years in Kocaeli, Turkey

“…Most of the injuries were not severe, nor fatal, but instead were superficial. This is in agreement with some studies, and in contrast to others . The high incidence of superficial injuries in the present study could be regarded as positive, while the higher number of multiple injuries highlights the importance of school‐based injuries.…”

“…In line with the research in Turkey and other countries, the present study also showed that boys had more injuries than girls. In other words, being a boy is an important risk factor for school‐based injuries . Furthermore, the incidence of ≥two injuries was higher for boys.…”

“…In this study, total incidence of school injuries was 10.52% person‐year (2956/311) for the four academic years. In primary school children in Germany , Finland , China , India , Hungary , Pakistan , USA and Canada, morbidity of injuries ranges between 0.1% and 54%, compared with 0.20–78.5% in Turkey . This indicates a similarity between the findings for Turkey and other countries, although the range is relatively large.…”

School Injury Among Ottawa‐Area Children: A Population‐Based Study

“…Incidence rates of school injury among Canadian school‐aged youth have been estimated at approximately 5.4 injury events per 100 children 7 . A study of Montreal area students found that most injuries were sustained by male students 10‐14 years old and involved falls and sports injuries as the most common injury mechanisms 8 . Sheps and Evans 9 reported that the majority of elementary school injuries among Vancouver area students occurred on the playground, whereas sports and accidents in the classroom represented the most frequent cause of injury among high school students.…”

“…7 A study of Montreal area students found that most injuries were sustained by male students 10-14 years old and involved falls and sports injuries as the most common injury mechanisms. 8 Sheps and Evans 9 reported that the majority of elementary school injuries among Vancouver area students occurred on the playground, whereas sports and accidents in the classroom represented the most frequent cause of injury among high school students. Howard et al 10 examined Toronto area school playgrounds before and after removal of older style, more hazardous playground equipment and found that the installation of more safety conscious playground equipment decreased the rate of injury from 2.61 injuries per 1000 students to 1.68 injuries per 1000 students.…”