Emergency Visits
Hospitalizations
Emergency Visits
According to the National Ambulatory Care Reporting System (NACRS) in 2020, there were approximately 330 emergency visits per year among Simcoe Muskoka children (0 to 14 years) injuring themselves falling from playground equipment; however, this only accounted for less than 4% of all injury-related emergency visits for this age group. Children (0-14 years) account for more than 90% of all playground equipment emergency department visits.
Type of playground equipment coded for these emergency department visits include teeter totter, slide, swing, monkey bars and trampoline. For the years 2016 to 2020 (combined), among Simcoe Muskoka children 14 years of age or younger, the most common type of equipment being used while injured was a trampoline (accounting for more than one-third of all visits), followed by monkey bars (accounting for another one-quarter of visits). Swings and slides each accounted for 10% of playground equipment injury visits.
The rate for playground equipment falls-related emergency visits in Simcoe Muskoka for children (0 to 14 years) in 2020 was 35.8 (32.1, 39.9) visits per 10,000, which was significantly higher than the Ontario rate of 31.4 (30.6, 32.1) visits per 10,000 children (0-14 years).
The playground equipment falls-related emergency visit rates dropped in 2020 by approximately 40% in both Simcoe Muskoka and Ontario overall. This sudden and dramatic drop can be attributed, at least in part, to changes in health care use and access during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is also reasonable to assume that pandemic restrictions (like the temporary closing of outdoor public playgrounds) also contributed to the drop in the rates.
Prior to 2020, playground equipment falls-related emergency visit rates in both Simcoe Muskoka and Ontario increased significantly from 2003 to 2019. The Simcoe Muskoka playground equipment falls-related emergency visit rates were higher than the provincial rate for this entire time.
Playground equipment fall-related emergency visit rates have not been significantly different between male and female children in Simcoe Muskoka since 2017. The same sudden drop in the rates in 2020 was observed for both male and female children. Playground equipment falls-related emergency visit rates increased significantly for both males and females in Simcoe Muskoka from 2003 to 2019.
For the time period from 2016 to 2020 (combined) in Simcoe Muskoka, the rate for playground equipment falls-related emergency visits among children (0-14 years) was highest among children living in areas with the lowest amount of material deprivation (as measured by the 2016 Ontario Marginalization Index). This pattern is the opposite of most other causes of injury-related emergency visits.
Hospitalizations
Only 1 in 20 emergency visits due to a fall from playground equipment led to a subsequent hospital admission in Simcoe Muskoka over the five-year period from 2016 to 2020. There were over 20 hospitalizations per year among Simcoe Muskoka children (0-14 years) from playground equipment falls for a rate of 2.6 ( 2.2, 3.2) hospital admissions per 10,000 children, which was similar to the provincial rate of 3.1 (3.0, 3.2) hospital admissions per 10,000 children. The Simcoe Muskoka male and female children hospitalization rates for playground equipment falls were not significantly different from each.
There were no deaths recorded in the vital statistics data among Simcoe Muskoka children (0-14 years) due to falls from playground equipment for the years from 2000 to 2015.