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Contemporary hazards in the home: keeping children safe from thermal injuries
Toity Deave1, Trudy Goodenough, Jane Stewart
1Centre for Child & Adolescent Health, Health and Life Sciences, University of the West of England, Bristol, Oakfield House, Oakfield Grove, Bristol BS8 2BN, UK. Toity.deave@uwe.ac.uk
Insights
Many parents lack fire escape plans and safe storage of household items, despite having working smoke alarms. Health promotion messages need updating to address new risks like hair straighteners for child safety.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Safety
- Public Health Research
- Injury Prevention
Background:
- Thermal injuries pose a significant risk to young children.
- Disadvantaged communities often face unique challenges in implementing safety practices.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess parental knowledge and practices regarding thermal injury prevention in children aged 0-4 years.
- To identify gaps in current prevention strategies in disadvantaged areas.
Main Methods:
- Interviews with 200 parents of pre-school children in England using a structured schedule.
- Data collection on smoke alarms, routines, escape plans, and first aid knowledge.
Main Results:
- High smoke alarm ownership (96%), but lower rates of fire escape plans (42%) and bedtime routines (53%).
- Prevalence of matches/lighters (80%) and hot appliances like irons (94%) and hair straighteners (70%).
- Inadequate safe storage of matches/lighters and hot hair straighteners; some harmful first aid practices noted.
Conclusions:
- While smoke alarm ownership is high, critical safety measures like escape plans are lacking.
- New household items present emerging risks requiring updated safety guidance.
- Health promotion requires reassessment to address current risks and improve child thermal injury prevention.
Objective:
To explore the knowledge and reported thermal injury prevention practices among parents of children aged 0-4 years in disadvantaged areas.
Methods:
Parents of pre-school children in Children's Centres in four study areas in England (Nottingham, Newcastle, Norwich and Bristol) were interviewed using a structured schedule. Interviews covered smoke alarms, bedtime routines, fire escape plans, other thermal prevention practices and parental knowledge of first aid.
Results:
Of the 200 respondents, most reported ownership of at least one smoke alarm (n=191, 96%), of which 95% were working. Half reported a fire prevention bedtime routine (n=105, 53%) or fire escape plan (n=81, 42%). Most parents had matches or lighters in the home (n=159, 80%), some stored where children under 5 years of age could reach them (n=30, 19%). There was a high prevalence of irons (n=188, 94%) and hair straighteners (n=140, 70%). A third of both devices were used daily. Just 17 (12%) parents reported leaving hair straighteners, when hot but not in use, in a heatproof bag. Knowledge of correct initial first aid for a small burn was good (n=165, 83%), but parents reported other potentially harmful actions, for example, applying ointment (n=44, 22%).
Conclusions:
Most families report at least one working smoke alarm, but many do not have fire escape plans or fire prevention bedtime routines. A number of reported practices could compromise child safety, such as storage of matches or lighters and leaving hair straighteners to cool unprotected. Reappraisal of health promotion messages, in light of new household consumables, is necessary.
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