Impact of Children With Special Needs on Differences in Fire-Safety Education Priorities, Preferred Method of Education, and Parent Actions

Abstract

Children with special needs are at a higher risk for the devastating effects caused by a burn injury (eg, pain, appearance, and mobility changes); however, little is known about their burn prevention (BP) needs. The purpose of this project was to determine the BP needs, preferred method of parent education, and the actions of parents and professionals caring for children with and without disabilities. A novel instrument measuring fire-safety education needs, priorities, preferred method of education, and BP actions was administered to a total of 150 parents and professionals caring for children with physical limitations (n = 41), vision impairment (n = 80), and controls (n = 29). Differences in each outcome variable among the groups were tested using χ tests for categorical variables. There was no difference in ranking between parents and professionals or among groups (disability, vision impaired, and control) in preferred BP safety areas (P > .05); however, there was a difference in their preferred method for education (P < .001) among the groups (disability, vision impaired, and control). In addition, there were differences in preferences of methods of education for classroom, DVD, and home inspection between parents and professionals (P < .05). Our results suggest that type of education method preferred may need to be tailored differently by group. These findings are preliminary and further research in this area is indicated. Information from this project will be used to develop and test a community-based intervention within a large metropolitan area in north central Kentucky.