Falls Prevention

Magnitude of the Problem

Falls are the leading cause of non-fatal injuries among children ages 0-19, accounting for nearly 28,000 hospital admissions and 1.7 emergency department visits each year¹.  They are the leading cause of traumatic brain injury (TBI) among children and adolescents².  Falls among children and adolescents are often associated with consumer products, including home furnishings/fixtures (stairs, beds, floors, etc.) and sports/recreation (basketball, monkey bars, skateboards, etc.)³. 

Prevention

Strategies to protect children from fall-related injuries include:

• Installing safety gates on stairs and guards on windows to prevent falls by young children;
• Providing a soft landing surface below playground equipment;
• Using the proper safety equipment, such as knee pads, elbow pads, wrist guards, and helmets, while playing sports;
• Supervising children near fall hazards; and
• Removing fall hazards whenever possible.

Sources

1. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Healthcare Utilization Project datasets 2019-2021.
2. Omaki, E., Shields, W., Rouhizadeh, M., Delgado-Barroso, P., Stefanos, R., & Gielen, A. (2023). Understanding the circumstances of paediatric fall injuries: a machine learning analysis of NEISS narratives. Injury prevention : journal of the International Society for Child and Adolescent Injury Prevention, 29(5), 384–388. https://doi.org/10.1136/ip-2023-044858
3. Ali, B., Lawrence, B., Miller, T., Swedler, D., & Allison, J. (2019). Consumer Products Contributing to Fall Injuries in Children Aged <1 to 19 Years Treated in US Emergency Departments, 2010 to 2013: An Observational Study. Global pediatric health, 6, 2333794X18821941.