INJURIES AT SCHOOL IN A DISTRICT OF FRANC E (VAL-DE-MARNE) - A PROSPECTIVE-STUDY OF THE 1993-1994 ACADEMIC YEAR

Injuries that occurred during the 1993-1994 academic year in the publi c schools of the Val de Marne district in France were studied. The kin dergartens, elementary schools, and secondary schools (ages three to 1 9 years) were surveyed. The total number of children was 217 762. Ther e were 6 717 injuries overall; 1.2% of children in in kindergartens an d primary schools and 5.8% of those in secondary schools sustained inj uries during the study period. Sixty-two per cent of victims were boys . The incidence was highest in 13-year-olds (10.9%). The accident was witnessed in nearly 87% of cases. Most injuries in kindergarten and el ementary school children occurred in the schoolyard during recess, whe reas nearly half those in secondary school children took place during supervised sports. Falls and collisons accounted for more than 80% of the lesions overall. The most commonly involved sites were the face an d head in younger children and the upper limbs in secondary school chi ldren. The first responder was a teacher in 80% of cases in kindergart ens and elementary schools and a school nurse in 51% of cases in secon dary schools. The overall hospitalization rate was 1/1000 school child ren. There were no deaths.