The effect of instruction on burn prevention in eighth-grade students in preparation for babysitting.

New parents quickly discover that the greatest resource for child care at the least cost are teenage babysitters. These sitters assume the responsibility for burn prevention of young children. This study tested the effect of a burn prevention presentation on pre- and posttest scores of eighth-grade students (N = 119) from five sections of a science class. Students were between the ages of 12 and 14 years and 99 of them (83.2%) were babysitters. Multiple analysis of variance was calculated, and differences were seen between information regarding burns from hot bath water, cigarette lighters, and baby bottles that were heated in microwave ovens; however, the differences were not significant. This study concluded that eighth-grade students learned burn prevention before they entered the eighth grade but that there is a need to update these babysitters on burn prevention and new hazards such as cigarette lighters and microwave ovens.

Prediction of burn mortality.

The present investigation was undertaken to compare the accuracy with which two clinical rules of thumb and an empirically derived quantitative index of burn severity classify burn victims into categories of risk to survival. all three assessment protocols correctly classified the majority of the survivors. However, the quantitative index of burn severity, the Abbreviated Burn Severity Index, was superior to the Baux and the modified Baux clinical rules of thumb in predicting fatalities. It was concluded that the Abbreviated Burn Severity Index was nearly as easy to use as the clinical rules of thumb, yet more accurate and specific in describing outcomes for the victims of a burn injury.