620 Impacting Teen Parents with Early Education for Burn and Fire Prevention

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Unintentional fire or burn injuries are the 5th leading cause of injury deaths in the United States for children age 1–4 and the 3rd for those age 5–9. 24% of all burn injuries occur in children under the age of 15. Preparation and education are key elements in preventing fire tragedies in children. We recognized a trend in children of teen pregnancies presenting to our outpatient burn clinic with burn injuries and identified an opportunity to incorporate burn and fire prevention education into a pre-existing teen parenting program within local schools. Methods We utilized an established relationship with the local school district, which offers an elective course focusing on teen parenting in high schools with credit granted toward high school graduation. This course offers parenting classes and life skills training on a variety of topics including car seat safety, water safety, bike and pedestrian safely, and poison and first aid education. The Burn Prevention Coordinator partnered with the Fire Department Injury Prevention Specialist to teach a one hour lecture on burn and fire safety. Upon completion, the teen parents were provided with water testers to prevent scald burns, outlet protectors to prevent electrical injuries, temperature sensitive spoons for safe feeding, travel mugs, smoke alarms, and “First Aid for Burns” refrigerator magnets. Results We have taught 16 classes over the past 2 years and reached 600–800 teen parents per year. Teen parents received education regarding scald and contact burn prevention, home escape planning, smoke alarm education including contact information to have smoke alarms installed into their homes, and education regarding first aid and when to seek medical attention in regard to burn injuries. Post-lecture feedback forms have shown positive results. On average, each teen parent learned two new fire and burn prevention techniques for their child. Conclusions We identified a high risk population and partnered with a well-established teen parenting course to educate teen parents on burn and fire prevention. We provided teen parents with tools to assist them in creating a safer environment for their children. Applicability of Research to Practice Partnering with established community programs we were able to immediately make an impact focusing on burn and fire prevention.