2000

April 26, 2000 - Window Falls Serious Child Health Problem, According to Cincinnati Children's Study

Study Supports Mandatory Window Guards

Wednesday, April 26, 2000

CINCINNATI - Falls from windows, a common cause of death in major cities such as New York and Chicago, also appear to be a significant child health problem in smaller cities, as well.

A Children's Hospital Medical Center of Cincinnati study shows that at least 86 children fell from windows in the Cincinnati area between 1991 and 1997. Four died. Most of these falls could have been prevented had window guards been in place, according to Kim Stone, M.D., the study's main author. The study is published in the current edition of the Journal of Urban Health: Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine.

"Window falls are a persistent but preventable problem," says Dr. Stone. "If guards were in place in all windows on the second-floor and above in multi-level dwellings, most of the accidents would not have occurred. Unfortunately, there are no regulations requiring window guards in the city of Cincinnati."

The study looked only at children evaluated in Children's Hospital Medical Center of Cincinnati Emergency Department. Sixty-four of the children who fell from windows lived in the city, and 80 percent were age 4 or younger. Typically, they leaned against a window screen or were climbing on furniture and fell. All of the four children who died from their falls were city residents.

"Falls from windows account for only 7 percent of all falls from heights among children in Hamilton County, but they account for 80 percent of deaths from falls," according to Dr. Stone. "Most of the falls occur in the spring and summer months, and the vast majority of those who fall from windows fall at least 15 feet."

The cost of injuries due to window falls totaled $1.2 million during the study period, according to the researchers. Although the researchers did not investigate whether serious injuries continue to affect children who fell from windows, falls from heights often cause significant brain injury.

In 1972, the New York City department of health began "Children Can't Fly," a program to combat the high incidence of childhood injury and death due to falls from windows. The program, which included education and free window guards to families with young children in high-risk areas, drastically reduced death and injury. In 1976, the New York City board of health began requiring that landlords provide window guards in apartments where children 10 and younger live.

"Mandatory window guards are a solution that local government leaders should implement to solve this life-threatening, urban problem," says Bruce Lanphear, M.D., M.P.H., a researcher in Cincinnati Children's division of general and community pediatrics and co-author of the study. "This study and others on injuries, lead poisoning and asthma, emphasize the importance of housing conditions as a major determinant of children's health," he adds.