Hispanic Health News Poorer Neighborhoods Often Have Less Safe
Playgrounds Photo: Poorer Neighborhoods Often Have Less Safe
Playgrounds Chicago study found many needed simple fixes like
adding more wood chips. Most playgrounds are safe for children,
but many of them—particularly those in poorer neighborhoods—need
improvement, a Chicago-area survey found. The good news is that
many of the safety issues, such as increasing the depth of wood
chips covering playground surfaces, are easily correctable. And
a softer landing can mean the difference between a harmless fall
and one that causes serious injury, an expert said. When
researchers later followed up on the less-than-safe playgrounds,
many of the problems had been fixed. “We gave our information to
the park district, and they were able to improve the quality of
playgrounds pretty dramatically,” said senior study author Dr.
Karen Sheehan, medical director of the Injury Prevention and
Research Center at Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. “We’re
also making t