Playground hazards in Atlanta child care centers

Abstract

We identified 684 playground hazards in 66 child care centres despite regulations mandating that the grounds be hazard-free. Of 21 centers with ≤5 hazards, 42.9 percent reported a playground-related injury in the previous year; of 25 centers with 6-11 haards, 52.0 percent reported a playground-related injury; and of 20 centers with ≥12 hazards, 60.0 percent reported a playground-related injury. Climbing equipment ≥6 feet tall generally had inadequate impact-absorbing undersurfacing and had over twice the rate of fall injuries as climbing equipment <6 feet.