ArticlesDoes teaching scald burn prevention to families of young children make a difference? A pilot study*,☆☆
Section snippets
Scald burn incidence and risk in young children
Scald burns from hot liquids are the most frequent cause of nonfatal burn injuries, and 75% of victims are younger than age 3 (Ray, 1995). Hot tap water and kitchen spills cause most scald burns (Banco, Lapidus, Zavoski, & Braddock, 1994). Kitchen scald burns from hot liquids and beverages are the most common burns suffered by young children and represent 60% of unintentional scald burns (Huyer & Corkum, 1997). The remainder of scald burns take place in the bathroom and are caused by hot water.
Purpose
The purpose of the study was to determine whether providing scald burn prevention interventions to parents of children younger than age 5 had an effect on scald burn-related home-safety practices. Research questions included (1) does verbal teaching regarding scald burn prevention have an effect on home-safety practices in this area? (2) are parents of children with certain demographic or risk factors more likely to implement burn-related home-safety practices? (3) before interventions, what
Theoretical framework
The theoretical framework used to guide this current study was based on the Self-Care Deficit Theory of Nursing that was developed by Dorothy Orem (Marriner-Tomey, 1994). Orem's theory comprises the following three related theories: self-care, self-care deficit (outlines why people can be assisted through nursing), and nursing systems (details the relationships that need to be established and developed for nursing to be produced). According to Orem, self-care is a general requirement for
Design
For this study a quasi-experimental design was used. The study was based on the premise that a public health nurse who provided home visits to families with young children could provide teaching about scald burn prevention that would lead to the adoption of pertinent safety measures by parents in the home setting.
Sample
The parents who completed the survey were nonrandomly selected and had at least one child younger than age 5 at the time of survey completion. The families were all enrolled in a
Results
Analysis of the difference in mean scores of correct burn prevention practices from the first to the second assessment was performed using a paired comparison t test. This analysis indicated a statistically significant change in the numbers of scald burn-prevention measures (p < .001) implemented by parents after the public health nurses provided teaching. The mean number of items needing change at baseline was 8.6 (range, 1 to 13; SD = 3.14). After the intervention, parents implemented a mean
Discussion and implications for practice
Unintentional scald burn injuries in young children can have devastating effects on the lives and health of many families. This public health problem has enormous costs and in many cases is preventable. This is the first study to show a significant effect of teaching on a variety of specific scald burn prevention practices in a cohort of parents of young children in the home setting. The results of this pilot project support previous reports that home visiting fosters healthy behaviors. Changes
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank the nurses and families who participated in the project.
References (29)
- et al.
The effect of anticipatory guidance on mothers' self-efficacy and behavioral intentions to prevent burns caused by hot tap water
Patient Education and Counseling
(1993) - et al.
Pediatric injuries: Parental knowledge, attitudes and needs
Canadian Journal of Public Health
(1996) - et al.
Medically attended nonfatal injuries among preschool-age children: National estimates
American Journal of Preventive Medicine
(1995) Injury prevention in children
Primary Care
(1994)Burns in young children: A study of the mechanism of burns in children aged 5 years and under in the Hamilton, Ontario burn unit
Burns
(1995)- et al.
Burn injuries among children in an urban emergency department
Pediatric Emergency Care
(1994) - et al.
Pediatric injury prevention counseling priorities
Pediatrics
(1997) Childhood injuries in the United States
American Journal of Diseases of Children
(1990)- et al.
Nursing forum: Burns
Journal of Burn Care & Rehabilitation
(1997) - et al.
Childhood injuries in the United States: Mortality, morbidity, and cost
American Journal of Diseases of Children
(1990)
Unintentional infant injuries: Sociodemographic and psychosocial factors
Public Health Nursing
Reducing the incidence of tap-water scalds: Strategies for physicians
Canadian Medical Association Journal
A randomized single-blind evaluation of a discharge teaching book for pediatric patients with burns
Journal of Burn Care & Rehabilitation
Childhood residential injuries. MCN
The American Journal of Maternal Child Nursing
Cited by (25)
Epidemiological evaluation paediatric burn injuries via an outpatient database in Eastern Ontario
2018, Burns OpenCitation Excerpt :Identification of populations in our catchment area at high risk for burns is essential for focused burn prevention programs in our community areas. The literature supports that burn prevention programs reduce the incidence of burns in a community [28,29]. Cagle et al. demonstrated that providing parents with burn safety workshops and environmental change suggestions does decrease the incidence of burns in a target population [28].
The severity of kettle burns and the dangers of the dangling cord
2012, BurnsCitation Excerpt :Our study's finding would suggest that this does not prevent significant kettle scalds from pulling on the cord and legislation needs to address this urgently. In general, scald prevention campaigns have been ineffective [36–38] although the majority have not highlighted the kettle cord as an area for prevention [39,40]. Sheller et al. showed a theoretical reduction in scald injuries from kettles in Norway after a successful preventative campaign involving a national television and radio broadcast and numerous health publications highlighting the need for the cord to be out of children reach when the kettle was in use.
Burn prevention mechanisms and outcomes: Pitfalls, failures and successes
2009, BurnsCitation Excerpt :The amount of time required to adequately convey a burn-injury prevention curriculum is age dependent. Shorter instruction periods have been tried in elementary schools, often by incorporating games or by shifting instruction to outside the classroom through take-home exercises [31,74,75]. Making the sessions as part of the extra curricular activities on a regular basis is of utmost importance [4].
Survey of primary school educators regarding burn-risk behaviors and fire-safety education
2007, BurnsCitation Excerpt :Studies have demonstrated that appropriate burn-prevention education can reduce the risk of childhood burn injuries. For example, Corrarino and colleagues have shown that while some minority populations are less likely to practice safe burn-avoidance behaviors at home, after counseling and burn-prevention education, they are significantly more likely to make behavioral changes compared to their Caucasian counterparts [13]. Children from high-risk groups can be identified by their elementary school teachers and targeted for burn-prevention education.
Prevention of burn injuries
2007, Total Burn CareHealth, safety, and education measures for fire in schools: A review article
2020, Journal of Education and Health Promotion
- *
This project was supported in part by a grant from the New York State Department of Health Injury Control Unit.
- ☆☆
Address reprint requests to Jane E. Corrarino, Suffolk County Department of Health, 225 Rabro Dr., Hauppauge, NY 11788. E-mail: [email protected]