Back to Annual Meeting

Back to Annual Meeting

APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Ellen E. Yard¹, Christy Knox, MA², and R. Dawn Comstock, PhD². (1) Center for Injury Research and Policy, Columbus Children's Hospital, 700 Children's Drive, Columbus, OH 43205, 614-722-2400, yarde@ccri.net, (2) Center for Injury Research and Policy, Columbus Children's Research Institute, 700 Children's Drive, Columbus, OH 43205

Describe illnesses and injuries sustained by campers at summer camps, calculate illness and injury rates, and identify risk and protective factors for camp-related illness and injury.

A sample of camps selected from the United States summer camp population participated in this illness and injury surveillance study. Camps completed weekly reports detailing the number of campers on site and the number of adverse events sustained and provided specific information about each adverse event.

A total of 177 camper illnesses and injuries occurred during 122,379 camper-days, for a rate of 1.4 adverse events per 1,000 camper-days. The majority of reported events were illnesses (68.6%), 12.1% of which were communicable and seen in multiple individuals at camp. The body sites most commonly affected were the gastrointestinal system (41.1%) and the throat (16.8%). Headache (29.0%), nausea (27.1%), and fever (27.1%) were the most commonly reported symptoms. Of the injury events (31.4%), cut/scratch/scrape were the most common diagnoses (34.7%), followed by fracture (14.3%) and sprain/strain (10.2%); horseback riding and “Capture the Flag” were identified as high-risk activities. Of all campers sustaining adverse events, 21.8% left camp following the incident and did not return. Recommended prevention strategies include providing adequate access to hand washing facilities, ensuring that all staff and campers utilize appropriate protective equipment, and restricting outdoor games to level ground and during daytime periods with adequate light.

Given the millions of children attending summer camp yearly, evidence-based preventive interventions could decrease the number of youth whose camp experiences are negatively affected by adverse events.

Learning Objectives: Upon conclsusion of the session, the participant will be able to

• State the incidence rate of illness and injury among US children attending summer camp
• Describe patterns of illness and injury occurring at US summer camps
• List the most common illnesses and injuries occurring at US summer camps
• List 5 potential prevention initiatives aimed to decrease the rate of illness and injury at US summmer camps

Keywords: Injury Prevention, Surveillance

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered

Handout (.ppt format, 1574.5 kb)