Study: Playground Safety Inadequate in Impoverished Neighborhoods

A new study of playgrounds in the Chicago area has some interesting conclusions related to injury prevention. While the researchers rated most of the playgrounds safe for children, they found that many of those located in poorer neighborhoods need improvement. Fortunately, a few simple renovations, particularly with the playground’s surface, can make a big impact on the overall safety. According to Dr. Gary Smith, the director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, “If a playground is done correctly with the appropriate surfacing, when a climbing child overreaches and falls, he or she can just get up and brush themselves off, rather than paying the price of a broken bone or a traumatic brain injury.” A safe surface could be made of either rubber, other commonly used energy-absorbing materials, or loose-fill wood chips.

Encouragingly, the researchers re-evaluated 154 of the unsafe playgrounds 2 years after they informed the Parks Department of their hazards and found that 40% could now receive a safe rating. Improvements to the failing playgrounds was not all that difficult or expensive to achieve -- to get the ball rolling, all that was needed was a demonstration of the problem and the will to fix it. Playgrounds can and should be made safer for the children that use them, especially for those living in impoverished communities who are at the greatest risk.

The findings of this study will be published in the February edition of Pediatrics. To read more now, click here for Serena Gordon’s article “Poorer neighborhoods often have less safe playgrounds” in Healthday.

Also, check out the Child Injury Prevention Alliance’s website for more tips on playground safety.

Notice anything that needs to be renovated in the above picture of the playground at Concordia Park in East Oakland, CA???