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Associated Economic Impact of Skatepark-Related Injuries in Southern California

Federico Vaca, MD, MPH, University of California-Irvine School of Medicine, Center for Trauma and Injury Prevention Research, Department of Emergency Medicine, Orange, California
Danny Mai, BS, University of California-Irvine School of Medicine, Center for Trauma and Injury Prevention Research, Department of Emergency Medicine, Orange, California
Craig L. Anderson, PhD, University of California-Irvine School of Medicine, Center for Trauma and Injury Prevention Research, Department of Emergency Medicine, Orange, California
John Christian Fox, MD, University of California-Irvine School of Medicine, Center for Trauma and Injury Prevention Research, Department of Emergency Medicine, Orange, California
Nik Ferrarella, BS, University of California-Irvine School of Medicine, Center for Trauma and Injury Prevention Research, Department of Emergency Medicine, Orange, California

Reprint Requests: Federico Vaca, MD, MPH, University of California-Irvine Medical Center, 101 The City Drive South, Route 128-01, Orange, CA 92868, Tel: 714-456-6986, Fax: 714-456-3714, Email: fevaca{at}uci.edu

Objective: To correlate the types of skatepark-related injuries with medical expenses and the monetary effects of time missed from work or school.

Design: Prospective case series and survey with repeat measures over 1 year.

Setting: Southern California Level I Trauma Center and Emergency Department.

Participants: Subjects age 7 years or older who sustained an injury at a local skatepark and treated in the emergency department were included in the study.

Methods: A skatepark-related injury survey was conducted at the time of the subject’s emergency department evaluation.Thereafter, subjects were contacted by telephone at 1 week and 1, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months post-injury to assess the extent of ongoing follow-up medical care, time lost from work and school for both the subject and parents, and the degree of self-reported disability. The costs of injury were estimated using accepted econometric methods. The cost of medical care and lost household productivity were estimated using data specific to the nature of the injury and the body part injured.

Results: Skatepark-related injuries resulted in a mean loss of 1.1 school days and 5.5 work days to the subject and family.The mean total injury costs were $3,167, of which 64% were medical costs and 28% were wages lost by the subject and family. Costs were much greater for subjects aged 26 years and older than for younger subjects and for those with more severe injuries than for less severe injuries.

Conclusion: Skatepark injuries resulted in substantial medical costs and lost wages. Injured skatepark users 26 years and older and those with more severe injuries had the highest cost.

Key Words: Cost • Economic • Injury • Skateboarding • Skatepark