Safety of surfaces and equipment for children in playgrounds

Mott, Alison; Rolfe, Kim; James, Rosie; Evans, R.; Kemp, Alison; Dunstan, Frank David John; Kemp, Kenneth W.; Sibert, Jonathan Richard

doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(96)10343-3

Cited by 93 publications

(94 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…17 Use of safe surfacing can reduce the severity and prevalence of these injuries. [27][28][29] Additionally, playgrounds did not meet several equipment maintenance safety standards.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Playground Safety and Quality in Chicago

Allen

Hill

Tranter³

et al. 2013

Pediatrics

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OBJECTIVES: To assess playground safety and quality in Chicago, Illinois, identify disparities in access, and use the data to inform collaborative improvement. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of public park playgrounds in Chicago, Illinois, was conducted in 2009, 2010, and 2011 by using the National Program for Playground Safety Standardized Survey. All playgrounds were surveyed in 2009 and 2010; those that failed in 2010 were resurveyed in 2011. Playgrounds were assessed in 4 main categories: age-appropriate design, fall surfacing, equipment maintenance, and physical environment. Safety scores were generated from the assessment. Geographic information system mapping provided a visual description of the playground pass/fail rate based on neighborhood, child population, race/ethnicity, and poverty level. RESULTS: Of the ∼500 playgrounds, 467 were assessed in 2009, and 459 were assessed in 2010. In 2009, half of all playgrounds (55%) and in 2010, nearly two-thirds (61%) earned scores consistent with safe playgrounds (P < .001). Playgrounds scored poorest in fall surfacing and equipment maintenance. Geographic information system mapping showed neighborhoods with a higher percentage of children and impoverished families had fewer playgrounds and more failing playgrounds. In 2011, 154 (85%) of the playgrounds that failed in 2010 were surveyed. The mean playground score among failing playgrounds improved significantly between 2010 (61%) and 2011 (67%, P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Since the playground improvement initiative began in 2009, considerable progress has been made in the safety scores, although access to high-quality playgrounds varies by neighborhood. Many failing playgrounds can be brought up to standard with improvement in fall surfacing and equipment maintenance.

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“…17 Use of safe surfacing can reduce the severity and prevalence of these injuries. [27][28][29] Additionally, playgrounds did not meet several equipment maintenance safety standards.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Playground Safety and Quality in Chicago

Allen

Hill

Tranter³

et al. 2013

Pediatrics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Monthly variations can be used for prevention programs. Recent research has been performed regarding appropriate playground landing surfaces [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] and maximum heights [12,14,17,19], resulting in efforts to improve landing surfaces of playground equipment. Several studies noted significant reductions in equipment related hazards [20,21] as well as injury rates [22] when less than optimal equipment and/or landing surfaces are corrected.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporal variation in pediatric supracondylar humerus fractures requiring surgical intervention

Loder

Krodel

D’Amico

2012

Journal of Children's Orthopaedics

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Background Pediatric supracondylar humerus fractures commonly require surgical intervention and hospital admission, which is costly and consumes significant health care resources. There are few data regarding temporal characteristics (month, day and hour of injury) of this particular pediatric fracture. We wished to investigate the month, day of the week, and time of occurrence of these fractures to guide appropriate use of health care resources and prevention strategies. Methods This study was a retrospective review of clinical records and radiographs of 353 children with operative supracondylar humerus fractures in a temperate climate region over 6 years. Date and time of injury and demographic data (gender, age, laterality) were extracted. Variation in month, weekday, and time of injury was analyzed using circular analysis, cosinor analysis, probability distributions and topographical distribution.

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“…Studies suggest that impact absorbing surfaces in playgrounds reduce the risk of injury [11,21]. Nevertheless, whenever an injury is sustained in a playground that does not comply with current impact surfacing standards, the question arises as to whether or to what extent an impact absorbing surface would have reduced injury severity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative multibody dynamics analysis of falls from playground climbing frames

Rueda

Gilchrist

2009

Forensic Science International

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This paper shows the utility of multibody dynamics in evaluating changes in injury related parameters of the head and lower limbs of children following falls from playground climbing frames. A particular fall case was used as a starting point to analyze the influence of surface properties, posture of the body at impact, and intermediate collisions against the climbing frame before impacting the ground. Simulations were made using the 6-year-old pedestrian MADYMO rigid body model and scaled head contact characteristics. Energy absorbing surfaces were shown to reduce injury severity parameters by up to 30-80% of those of rigid surfaces, depending on impact posture and surface. Collisions against components of a climbing frame during a fall can increase injury severity of the final impact of the head with the ground by more than 90%. Negligible changes are associated with lower limb injury risks when different surfacing materials are used. Computer reconstructions of actual falls that are intended to quantify the severity of physical injuries rely on accurate knowledge of initial conditions prior to falling, intermediate kinematics of the fall and the orientation of the body when it impacts against the ground. Multibody modelling proved to be a valuable tool to analyze the quality of eye-witness information and analyze the relative injury risk associated with changes in components influencing fall injuries from playground climbing frames. Such simulations can also support forensic investigations by evaluating alternative hypotheses for the sequence of kinematic motion of falls which result in known injuries.

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Safety of surfaces and equipment for children in playgrounds

Cited by 93 publications

References 5 publications

Playground Safety and Quality in Chicago

Playground Safety and Quality in Chicago

Temporal variation in pediatric supracondylar humerus fractures requiring surgical intervention

Comparative multibody dynamics analysis of falls from playground climbing frames

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