Injury patterns in a national cohort of summer camps: insights for prevention efforts

Abstract

Introduction: Fourteen million children participate in summer camps annually, yet injury data for these settings remain outdated. Our study aimed to modernize camp injury data collection by leveraging an electronic national camp-specific database to analyze the epidemiology of camp-related injuries. Methods: Deidentified data from 89 residential summer camps (2016–2019) were abstracted. Descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regression analysis were used to determine injury rates and identify risk factors. Results: We identified 13,934 injuries, with an injury rate of 575 injuries per 100,000 camp-days. Common injuries were lacerations/abrasions (37.6%), sprains/strains (27.8%), and head injury/concussions (14.1%). Lower and upper extremity injuries (49.4% and 25.7% respectively) were common. 2.6% (n = 363) of injuries required a higher level of medical care. Older age (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.2, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.1–1.2), male sex (AOR = 1.4, 95% CI: 1.1–1.9), upper extremity injuries (AOR = 3.0, 95% CI: 1.5–6.0), and injuries to head/face (AOR = 2.1, 95% CI: 1.0–4.4) had significantly higher odds of moderate or severe injury. Conclusion: Our study found a higher injury rate than previous research, reflecting the enhanced data collection made possible by utilizing a camp-specific database. Capturing a broad spectrum of injuries provides insights to guide camp stakeholders in developing tailored, data-informed injury prevention strategies.