Fall Injury Interventions

Window Bars

Background

As discussed above, most of the severe and fatal injuries to children from falls are falls from heights of two or more stories, usually out of windows. One strategy which has been developed is the use of window bars to decrease the size of the opening and prevent a small child from falling through.

A program in New York City, first based on an educational program with free window guards, and later backed up by regulation requiring these guards on all multifamily housing above the first floor, has been evaluated.

Review of window bar intervention studies:

Summary of window bar studies:

Window bars to prevent falls from heights has only been evaluated in New York City. Both the educational program and the regulation appeared effective, although the regulations would be expected to have continued long term impact.

Unfortunately, these studies are flawed in that they have neither denominators nor other control groups in their designs.

Recommendations on window bars:

Window bars appear to be effective for preventing falls. Regulations requiring bars on rental housing appears to be most appropriate.

Recommendations for future research:

This study needs duplication in another setting, using a stronger study design with population based data. One case series from Chicago of 70 children falling from heights found that 36% fell from windows, despite a regulation requiring window guards if the height of the sill is less than 2 feet above the floor. ¹⁰ In addition, studies of the effectiveness of programs to increase window bar use for second story or higher windows in single or private family dwellings are also needed.

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