title: Playground safety--United States, 1998-1999.
abstract: Each year approximately 211,000 U.S. children receive emergency department care for injuries sustained on playground equipment, making the use of this equipment the leading cause of injuries to children in school and child care environments. In response to the problem, the National Program for Playground Safety (NPPS) at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) developed a national action plan that focuses on four areas of playground injury prevention: supervision, age-appropriateness of equipment, suitable fall surfaces, and equipment maintenance. During 1998-1999, NPPS surveyed a sample of the nation's child care, elementary school, and park playgrounds. This report summarizes the survey results, which indicate that playground injuries could be reduced by measures such as resilient surfacing below equipment, better equipment maintenance, improved supervision, and use of age-appropriate equipment.
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D011998:Recreation; D012449:Safety; D014481:United States