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Sign up for the Healthy
Camp Initiative!
Did you know that 77.8 percent of
fractures that occur at camp happen to
campers (not staff) and 66.7 percent of
those fractures happen to male campers? Before
you start thinking guys are just a bunch
of uncoordinated rowdies, you should know
it is actually female campers and female
staff that have the higher proportion of
both illnesses and injuries at camp (sorry
gals)! Horseback riding and playing "Capture
the Flag" are the two activities
that result in the most injuries at camp,
and the majority of adverse events among
campers occur on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday
afternoons.
This is the kind of feedback we received
on our Healthy Camp Study pilot in 2005. We
are pleased to announce that through generous
funding from Markel Insurance Company,
the study has been approved to continue
for the next five years.
Want a Healthy Camp?
Do you want to know the best intervention
strategies to keep your staff on the
job and your campers in program and not
in the health lodge? Do you want to see
your health statistics in comparison
to national averages?
Thanks to the generosity of Markel Insurance
Company and the skills and systems of The
Ohio State University College of Medicine
(OSU); Columbus Children’s Research
Institute (CCRI); the American Camp Association
(ACA); and the Association of Camp Nurses
(ACN), we have a five-year opportunity
to gather illness and injury data from
camps (both ACA and non-ACA).
As a result of this study we want to:
- track camp illnesses and injuries;
- monitor trends in camp health;
- identify risk and protection factors;
and
- track/analyze appropriate intervention
strategies.
These strategies
will make a proven difference in your
camp’s health awareness and
performance!
Camps that have been serious
about tracking illnesses and injuries over
time have found ways to make significant
reductions in the time campers and staff
lose from program, have lowered their health
costs, and provided very specific staff
training on effective interventions.
What Is Expected of Participating Camps?
Beginning with the 2006 camp season, each
participating camp will be asked to have
a designated reporter collect information
about the injuries and illnesses that
meet the study’s criteria for inclusion.
Desired camp reporters are (listed in
order of preference): the camp health
care director, the camp nurse, other
camp health care personnel (i.e., LPN,
EMT, etc.), or another adult appointed
by the camp administration. The camp’s
reporter will be asked to log onto the
study Web site weekly throughout the
summer season to provide exposure information
(the number of campers and staff in the
program) and incidence information (the
number of campers or staff ill or injured
and missing some portion of program time
as a result). Camps in our Pilot Study
(2005) spent approximately fifteen minutes
per week completing reports.
To view Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
and the enrollment form, please click on
the following link. Please
submit your enrollment form by March 15. Thank
you!!
If you are unable to get to the link or have
additional questions, please contact Sheila
Dannemiller at 765-349-3511 or sdannemiller@ACAcamps.org.
Study information is also available at www.ACAcamps.org/research. |
