A case-control study of risk factors for playground injuries among children in Kingston and region

by Wang, Feng

A matched casecontrol study was undertaken to identify environmental hazards associated with the occurrence of playground equipment injuries. Cases (n4)and individually matched controls (by age, sex, and time of recall; n=90) were recruited from children who came to emergency departments of the two general hospitals in Kingston, Ontario. Two types of controls were used: Children who presented for treatment with injuries otherthan playgroundinjuries, and children who presentedfor non-injury treatment. Information about playground hazards was obtained from a playground audit conducted in the Kingston area. Cases were compared with the two types of controls separately and in combination with respect to their exposure to playground hazards. The two control groups were also compared to determine whether the use of injury controls versus noninjury controls lead to different estimates of risk for playground injuries. Conditional logistic regression was used to assess the strength of potential risk factors for playground injuries. Risk factors associated with playground injuries included: (1) Ground surfacing materials which met CSA standards for types but not CPSC standards for depth (OR-18.2, C. 1=3.3-99.9) or which did not meet either the CSA or CPSC standards (OR=21.0, C. 1=3.4- 128.1 ); (2) Play equipment without CSA-recommendedguardrails and handrails (OR=6.7, C. 112.6-17.5). Odds ratios for risk factors remained similar regardless of the kind (injury or non-injury) of control group.