A nursing intervention to ensure a safe playground environment.
Unintentional injuries sustained on school playgrounds are a continual problem not only for children but also for the school nurses who are concerned with their safety. A group of school nurses organized by the local health department's pediatric nurse practitioner responded proactively to this problem by enlisting both school officials and students to accept joint responsibility for a safe play environment. The school nurses assisted the staff in providing a safe play environment and encouraged the students to behave in a safe and acceptable manner on the playground. The nurses developed (a) a Playground Safety Assessment Guide for the school staff to establish and maintain a safe play environment, (b) an in-service session for playground monitors to learn how to supervise children at recess, and (c) a student-oriented program for the children to improve behavior on the playground based on a program conceived by Utah State University (Daug & Fukui, 1988). School nurses and pediatric nurse practitioners can use this program as a model for other schools to improve the physical play environment and behavior of the children at recess.
McEvoy
M
M
Montana
B
B
Panettieri
M
M
D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D006801:Humans; D009722:Nurse Practitioners / Q000458:organization & administration*; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D010371:Pediatric Nursing / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D010988:Play and Playthings; D012449:Safety; D012573:School Nursing / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000517:prevention & control*