Abstract
BackgroundOver 450,000 individuals are hospitalized with burns annually and roughly 35% are scald burns. Children younger than 5 years of age are at the greatest risk of scald burn injury. Caregiver burn prevention programs have been found to reduce the prevalence of injuries in young children; however, low-income and underserved populations seldomly have access to these programs. The impact of scald burn prevention programs in underserved populations remains unexplored. The objective of the current study was to evaluate the efficacy of a scald burn prevention program at a Level One Pediatric Trauma Center in a low-income, underserved community.MethodsOur hospital developed a one-hour scald burn prevention program for caregivers with children 5 years of age or younger. The program educated caregivers on ways to prevent scald burns and create safeguards in their home. Caregivers completed a pre-post survey to measure their ability to identify hot or cold objects, as well as respond to items about their perceptions of the program’s utility, their willingness to share it with others, and the likelihood that they would use the information in the future. Data was analyzed using a paired t-test.ResultsTwo-hundred and sixty-nine (N = 269) caregivers participated in the program. Before the program, caregivers could identify potentially hot objects 83.17% of the time, and after the program, they were able to identify these items 92.31% of the time: t (268) = 12.46, p < .001, d = 1.07. Additionally, 95% of caregivers indicated that the program was helpful, 99% stated that they were likely to share this information with others, and 100% indicated that they would use the information from the program.ConclusionsEducation is a critical component to prevent scald burns. Results indicate that a hospital-led scald burn prevention program can positively impact a caregiver’s ability to identify possible scald-burn risks. Providing education to caregivers who typically do not receive this information could lower the prevalence of scald burns not only institutionally, but in communities that are disproportionately impacted by this mechanism of injury.
Highlights
Over 450,000 individuals are hospitalized with burns annually and roughly 35% are scald burns
According to the American Burn Association (ABA), approximately 450,000 individuals are hospitalized from burns annually (American Burn Association 2020)
Young children who experience scald burns can experience life-long physical and psychosocial problems ranging from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to loss of function of an area of their body (American Burn Association 2020; Stoddard et al 2017; Sharma and Parashar 2010)
Summary
Over 450,000 individuals are hospitalized with burns annually and roughly 35% are scald burns. Caregiver burn prevention programs have been found to reduce the prevalence of injuries in young children; low-income and underserved populations seldomly have access to these programs. The impact of scald burn prevention programs in underserved populations remains unexplored. The objective of the current study was to evaluate the efficacy of a scald burn prevention program at a Level One Pediatric Trauma Center in a low-income, underserved community. According to the American Burn Association (ABA), approximately 450,000 individuals are hospitalized from burns annually (American Burn Association 2020) Of these hospitalized injuries, scald burns account for 35% of burns. Because of the high prevalence and myriad of problems that scald burns can create for young children from lowincome areas, preventing future burn injuries in this population is imperative
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