Preventing pain in parks: Effective strategies to mitigate unintentional injuries in national parks

According to the Outdoor Industry Association, more than 137.8 million Americans participated in outdoor recreation in 2009. The National Park Service (NPS) serves as a major source of outdoor and wilderness recreational opportunity, with more than 200 million people worldwide visiting 394 national parks. With opportunities for recreating in wild places, there is also increased likelihood for unintentional injury. A recent study documented more than 425,400 emergency department visits between January 2004 and December 2005 due to outdoor recreational injuries. According to NPS data sources, every day an average of fourteen visitors are seriously injured in national parks, and approximately three visitors die every week in parks due to unintentional injuries. Nearly all of these injuries are reported by approximately 100 parks. Leading causes of unintentional death in parks include drowning, injury due to motor vehicle crashes, fall injuries, and exposure due to environmental causes. While the literature has demonstrated that engineering solutions can be effective strategies for reducing hazards associated with high risk activities (i.e. seat belts and car seats, barriers and lighting on roads), engineering solutions are not always an option in park settings where, for example, guardrails around vast canyons, paved pathways, or lighting fixtures may conflict with the park's mission to protect some of the nation's most precious natural and cultural resources. This presentation provides detailed examples of innovative ways national parks have relied on a combination of education, enforcement, and engineering solutions to mitigate visitor injuries without compromising the mission to protect its resources.