Although over 11 million children and adults attend one of the approximately 12,000 US summer camps yearly, no long-term, national surveillance system captures illnesses and injuries in this population.

This pilot study represents the first step toward the implementation of a long-term illness and injury surveillance program in a sample of US summer camps.

Calculate camper illness and injury rates Describe illnesses and injuries sustained by campers at summer camp Identify risk and protective factors for camp-related illness and injury

The camper adverse event rate is lower than previously reported injury rates among youth participating in sports such as football, basketball, and soccer.

Potential adverse event reduction interventions could include ongoing efforts to encourage good hygiene, maintaining adequate staff supervision at all times during activities like capture the flag, and ensuring that horses are assessed for spooking triggers.

Internet-based surveillance systems such as this one can serve as time- and cost-effective mechanisms for collecting exposure and adverse event data to drive evidence-based preventive efforts.

Camps completed 78.4% of the expected weekly exposure reports and 88.1% of the expected illness/injury report forms Participating camps reported 150 adverse events during 122,379 camper-days

BACKGROUND

OBJECTIVES

METHODS

RESULTS

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

Reportable adverse events had to meet the following criteria: 1) an illness or injury that occurred during a camper’s participation in the camp program, and 2) for which the camper required medical attention, and 3) that removed and/or restricted the camper from their normal camp routine for 4 hours.

Selected camps (n=28) representing 14 states were assigned to report via either an Internet-based (RIOTM, Reporting Information Online) or a phone-based surveillance system.

A reporter from each camp was asked to log into the system weekly to report the number of campers on site along with the number of adverse events that met the study definition for each week of the 10-week study.

For each adverse event, reporters were asked to complete an illness/injury report form that collected detailed information about the adverse event.

Reporters had the ability to review and modify all entered data throughout the study’s duration.

Horseback riding and “Capture the Flag” were identified as injury-producing activities

0 20 40 60 80

Other

Vomitting

Fever

Nausea

Headache

0 5 10 15 20 25

Other

Sprain/ Strain

Contusion

Fracture

Cut/ Scratch

Most commonly reported illness symptoms Most commonly reported injury diagnoses

We would like to acknowledge additional individuals who collaborated on “The Healthy Camp Study”: MM Scanlin, Ed.D, American Camp Association; LE Erceg, RN, MS, PHN, Association of Camp Nurses; GM Powell, PhD, University of Georgia; and JR Wilkins III, BCE, DrPH, The Ohio State University. For further information, please refer to the forthcoming Pediatrics article written by all authors and collaborators, “Illness and Injury among Children Attending Summer Camp United States 2005”.

Number of reports, n=156 (multiple symptoms allowed)Number of reports, n=156 (multiple symptoms allowed) Number of diagnoses, n=48 Number of diagnoses, n=48

Overall, 1.22 adverse events occurred per 1,000 camper-days

Adverse events occurred more frequently at resident camps (2.18 per 1,000 camper-days) compared to day camps (0.40 per 1,000 camper-days)

68%

32%

Illness Injury

Internet-Based Surveillance of Injuries Sustained by US Campers

1Center for Injury Research and PolicyColumbus Children’s Research Institute

Columbus Children’s Hospital

2Department of PediatricsCollege of Medicine and Public Health

The Ohio State UniversityColumbus, Ohio

EE Yard, MPH,1 CL Knox, MA,1 and RD Comstock, PhD1,2