Game-related injuries in schools: a retrospective nationwide 6-year evaluation and implications for prevention policy

Eli Jaffe,Anna Khalemsky,Michael Khalemsky

doi:10.1186/s13584-021-00487-5

Eli Jaffe, Anna Khalemsky + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s13584-021-00487-5

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Abstract

BackgroundChild injury is a global public health problem. Children spend 25–50% of their daytime in school and risks of school accidents are high. The purpose of this study is to perform a comprehensive analysis of game-related injuries.MethodsA nationwide dataset of 36,002 school injury events that occurred in Israel between 2013 and 2019 and were served by the National EMS, was used. The relations between different variables were demonstrated using multidimensional frequency tables. Z-tests, chi-square tests, ANOVA tests, and J48 classification trees were used to analyze the data.ResultsThe prevailing injury cause (36.8%) was “game”, 44.8% of which occur during breaks, and the most frequently injured body regions were head, hand, and leg/foot (47.2%, 26.7%, and 19.7%, respectively). Age was negatively correlated with head injuries and positively correlated with limb injuries. 33% of all injuries occur in the playground and 20.1% occur in the sports field. About 33.3% of game-related injuries in elementary schools occur during the 10:00 a.m. break and an additional 24.7% during the 12:00 p.m. lunch break.ConclusionGames are the prevailing cause of school injuries in Israel. Gender and age differences, and seasonal and circadian trends were observed. Understanding the patterns and the trends of school injuries can enable the development of effective prevention policies on the national, municipal, and local levels, focusing the efforts on the key factors affecting injury incidence. Efficient use of resources is necessary, taking into account resource and budget constraints. Efforts can include education of teachers and pupils in relation to school accidents, promoting a safer physical environment, safety education, staff development and family and community involvement, and coordinative training with a focus on proprioception.

Highlights

Child injury is a global public health problem
Sports facilities can be used for non-sports activities e.g., ceremonies, we must assume that some of these events were mistakenly reported in the event category ‘lesson’ instead of ‘physical education’
We found an association between daily injury rate and national and religious holidays: months with fewer school days and more holidays were associated with a lower daily injury rate

Summary

Introduction

Child injury is a global public health problem. The World Health Organization (WHO) considers child injury as a global public health problem. The leading causes of fatal injuries were traffic accidents (29.5%), followed by drug poisoning (26.2%) and falls (20.3%) [3]. In Israel, the average mortality rate from unintentional injuries in the years 2017–2019, stands at 4.6 per 100,000 children and adolescents up to 17 years old. The leading cause of deaths was car accident (46%), followed by drowning (17%) and suffocation (8%) [4]. In 2015–2017 in Israel, unintentional injures led to a yearly average of 206,000 visits to the emergency room and 26,000 cases of hospitalization (in 2015–2017 the average population of children and adolescents up to 17 years old was 2,397,000) [5]

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