A support group for parents of burned children: A South African Children's Hospital Burns Unit

Abstract

Paediatric burns constitute a serious global health threat, with a particular burden in low and middle-income countries [1]. Though full data on the extent of injuries is not universally available, data which are accessible show a consistent pattern. For example, a global assessment of hospitalized paediatric burn patients conducted in 2005 [2] indicates that the highest incidence of hospitalized paediatric burns patients is in Africa, the lowest in the Americas. In the 0–4 age group, furthermore, Africa shows the highest rate of death from fire-related burns in children of both sexes, with boys especially vulnerable. Boys between 0 and 4 in Africa are approximately 10 times more likely to die of fire-related burns than those in the Americas, six times more likely than those in Europe, and five times more likely than those in South-East Asia, where the global lifetime burden of burns is highest in the world. For girls aged 0–4, those in Africa are approximately three times more likely to die of fire-related injuries than those in the Americas, twice as likely as those in Europe, and 1.3 times as likely as those in South-East Asia (figures extrapolated from WHO 2002 Injury Chart Book [3]). Poverty worldwide is an important risk factor for burns of all kinds [1].