Injury Facts

School Injuries

The Facts

More than 53 million children in the United States spend almost one-fourth of their total waking hours in school or on school property. An estimated 10 to 25 percent of the more than 14 million unintentional injuries sustained by children ages 14 and under each year occurs in and around schools. Annually, 1 in 14 students suffers a medically attended or temporarily disabling injury at school. Public attention often focuses on school violence.

However, studies indicate that school-age children are nine times more likely to sustain an unintentional injury than to be the victim of an intentional injury while at school. Playgrounds are associated with the majority of injuries among elementary school students. Athletics, including both physical education classes and organized sports, account for the majority of injuries among secondary school students.

SCHOOL DEATHS AND INJURIES

• An estimated 2.2 million children ages 14 and under sustain school-related injuries each year.
• Eighty percent of elementary school students will see a school nurse for an injury-related complaint over a two-year period.
• The most frequent causes of school-related injuries requiring hospitalization are falls (43 percent) and sports activities (34 percent).
• Approximately 715,000 sports- or recreation-related injuries occur in and around schools each year.
• Approximately 13,000 playground equipment-related injuries occur on school playgrounds during school hours.
• In 2001, 23 children ages 14 and under were killed and an estimated 4,500 were injured in school bus-related incidents. Nearly 48 percent of the deaths were child pedestrians.

WHEN AND WHERE SCHOOL DEATHS AND INJURIES OCCUR
School injuries are most likely to occur on playgrounds, athletic fields, and gymnasiums.

Playground-Related Injuries

• Playground injuries are the leading cause of injury among children ages 5 to 14 in the school environment.
• Nearly 40 percent of playground-related injuries occur during the months of May, June and September.
• Of all playground equipment-related injuries, 69 percent involve falls to the surface, and 10 percent involve falls onto equipment.
• Lack of supervision is associated with 40 percent of playground injuries. A recent study found that children play without adult supervision more often on school playgrounds (32 percent of the time) than on playgrounds in parks (22 percent) or childcare centers (5 percent).

Sports-Related Injuries

• The rate of injury per 1,000 students for students participating in organized school sports is more than five times that of students participating in physical education classes. However, physical education classes account for a greater number of injuries than organized school sports.
• A recent survey found that among athletes ages 5 to 14, 15 percent of basketball players, 28 percent of football players, 22 percent of soccer players, 25 percent of baseball players and 12 percent of softball players have been injured while playing their respective sports. The percentage of these injuries that occur while playing on school-based teams increases as children get older.
• Most organized sports-related injuries (60 percent) occur during practice rather than during games.
• The majority of organized sports injuries are from falls, collisions, overexertion or being struck by an object. Almost 75 percent of all school-related spinal cord injuries occur during sports activities.

School Bus-Related Injuries

• Of students who are nonfatally injured in school bus-related incidents, 90 percent are occupants.
• Pedestrians account for almost three times as many school bus-related fatalities as bus occupants. Many injuries occur when children are boarding or exiting the school bus due to the driver’s “blind spot,” which extends approximately 10 feet around the bus.
• Most school-age pedestrian school bus-related deaths occur in the afternoon. Forty-two percent of the fatalities occur between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.

WHO IS AT RISK

• Children ages 10 to 14 account for 46 percent of school-related injuries.
• Boys are three times more likely to sustain a school-related injury than girls.
• More than half of all school-age pedestrians killed in school bus-related crashes are between the ages of 5 and 7.

HEALTH CARE COSTS AND SAVINGS

• School-related injuries to children ages 14 and under result in an estimated $2 billion in medical spending each year.
• School bus-related injuries alone account for $21 million of these medical costs.
• The total annual cost of school-related injuries to children ages 14 and under exceeds $74 billion, which includes medical spending, lost quality of life and future earnings.

Re-printed with permission by the National Safe kids Campaign. Visit their website at www.safekids.org

Fact Sheet On Children’s Health Care Coverage

There are more than 8 million uninsured children in the United States

Children are at Risk

• 26 percent of all Hispanic children are uninsured.¹
• 16 percent of all African-American children are uninsured.²
• 14 percent of all Asian and Pacific Islander children are uninsured.³
• 8 percent of all non-Hispanic white children are uninsured.⁴
• 22 percent of children in low-income families lack health care coverage.⁵

Uninsured Children Risk Health Problems and Success in School

• A Florida study showed that uninsured children are 25 percent more likely to miss school than insured children.⁶
• According to that same Florida study, children without health insurance are less likely to have a usual source of care and more likely to delay or avoid care when it is needed.⁷
• Uninsured children are less likely to receive the proper medical care for childhood illnesses such as sore throats, earaches and asthma.⁸
• Children are less likely to seek care in an emergency department after enrolling in health coverage.⁹
• Children under age 6 should have at least one physician visit each year. Approximately 18 percent of uninsured children have not had a recent physician visit, as compared to 7 percent of insured children.¹⁰
• 20 percent of uninsured children have untreated vision problems.¹¹
• Parents with children who do not have health coverage find that this lack of coverage makes it difficult to get the right care for their children. Due to these circumstances, the parents of uninsured children are seven times more likely to be forced to delay or not get medical care for their kids than parents whose children have health insurance.¹²

Working Families often Lack Health Care Coverage for their Children

• Only 70 percent of all children in the United States are covered by private health insurance.¹³
• 65 percent of uninsured children have at least one parent who worked full time throughout the year.¹⁴
• People who work for the smallest businesses are the least likely to get health care coverage from their employers. Employers with fewer than 25 employees cover less than 31 percent of their employees.¹⁵
• Seven out of 10 parents with unenrolled children would enroll them in their State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) or Medicaid if they knew they qualified.¹⁶

...but most don’t have to be.

• 70 percent of uninsured children are eligible for low-cost or free health care coverage under Medicaid and SCHIP.¹⁷
• Medicaid, enacted in 1965, provides health care coverage for three main groups of low-income Americans: the elderly, the disabled, and parents and children.¹⁸ SCHIP, enacted in 1997, provides health care coverage for children in families that earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but cannot afford private health insurance. Both of these programs are available in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
• 23 million children in America are already enrolled in Medicaid and SCHIP.¹⁹

Enrolling in Health Care Coverage is Getting Easier²⁰

• More and more, states are adopting family-friendly application and enrollment processes for Medicaid and SCHIP.
• 38 states and the District of Columbia offer low-cost and free child health care coverage to families with incomes up to $35,300 per year for a family of four (200% of the federal poverty level).
• 40 states and the District of Columbia do not require a face-to-face interview.
• 9 states offer presumptive eligibility for their SCHIP and Medicaid programs—this allows children to get immediate medical care and temporary health care coverage while their applications are being processed.