Chalmers D. Height and surfacing as risk factors for injury in falls from playground equipment. 199612 | 110 cases playground injuries requiring medical attention. | School staff/hospital records. | The risk of injury increased with heights greater than 1.5 m (OR 4.14) and with non-IAS (OR 2.28). Falls from non-compliant equipment increased risk of injury. |
Interview with child/parents |
190 controls—fallen from equipment but no medical attention required. | Site visits |
Mowat DA et al. Case control study of risk factors for playground injuries among children in Kingston and area. 199813 | 45 cases A&E attendance with playground injury. | CHIRPP surveillance programme. | Injury was associated with inappropriate surfaces (OR 21), appropriate surface of inadequate depth (OR 18.2) and inadequate guard rails (OR 6.7). |
Telephone interview. |
Safety audit data/hazard identification. |
Age/sex matched controls non-injury and non-playground injury. |
Macarthur C et al. Risk factors for severe injuries associated with falls from playground equipment. 200015 | A&E/Admissions Toronto Hospital for Sick Children after fall from playground equipment. 18 mth–14 years | Hospital records. | Falls from >1.5 m had a 2-fold increased injury risk. As most children fell onto modern surfaces the role of surface was not evaluated. |
CHIRPP. |
Telephone interview. |
Site visit. |
Laforest et al. Severity of fall injuries on sand or grass in playgrounds. 200014 | 930 children 1–14 y attending 2 A&E units after falling from play equipment. | A&E database. | Grass is not a safe surface for play equipment. The adjusted risk of an IAS >2–3 was 1.7 times higher on grass than sand. |
Telephone questionnaire. |
(91%) response. |
Petridou et al. Injuries in public and private playgrounds: the relative contribution of structural, equipment and human factors. 200216 | 777 injuries in public and private playgrounds in Athens. | Injury surveillance in the Accident Department. | 2.2 times higher risk for an injury in public than in private playgrounds (95% confidence interval 1.61–3.07). With eight times higher odds for concussion. |
Public playgrounds have more equipment, usually of greater height, with less resilient surfaces. |