An organizational process for promoting home fire safety in two community settings.

The purpose of this study was to describe the home fire safety quality improvement model designed to aid organizations in achieving institutional program goals. The home fire safety model was developed from community-based participatory research (CBPR) applying training-the-trainer methods and is illustrated by an institutional case study. The model is applicable to other types of organizations to improve home fire safety in vulnerable populations. Utilizing the education model leaves trained employees with guided experience to build upon, adapt, and modify the home fire safety intervention to more effectively serve their clientele, promote safety, and meet organizational objectives.

Intervention study for changes in home fire safety knowledge in urban older adults.

Older adults are more likely to experience problems that contribute to an increase in burn-related morbidity and mortality. The purpose of the current study was to determine if the educational home fire safety (HFS) intervention was an effective method of improving HFS knowledge over time in two groups of urban older adults, home bound and community-based. HFS knowledge of 110 urban older adults was assessed at baseline, immediately after watching a HFS DVD (recall), and at 2-week follow-up (retention). The United States Fire Administration Home Safety Checklist which examines HFS practices in the home was also administered. HFS knowledge scores significantly increased over time for both groups (p<0.0001), but no significant differences existed between the two groups over time (p=0.183). In addition, HFS knowledge scores were significantly impacted by the number of chronic illnesses, number of independent activities of daily living, and income. The findings from this study suggest the educational HFS intervention was effective in increasing urban older adults' HFS knowledge over time. Lowering the burns morbidity and mortality in the older adult population is an important public health concern that needs to be addressed through tailored prevention and education strategies.

Home fire safety education for parents of newborns.

In children under 1 year of age, the proportion of unintentional burns increases with infant age and mobility. Infants are not able to avoid burns and are dependent on parental or adult help. Treatment of burns in young children is expensive in terms of the life-long costs. The purpose of this study was to examine changes in home fire safety (HFS) knowledge and practices over time for parents of newborn children and expecting parents. HFS knowledge of 103 parents was assessed at baseline, immediately after watching a DVD on HFS (recall), and at 2-week follow-up (retention). In addition, the United States Fire Administration (USFA)/Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Home Safety Checklist which examines HFS practices in the homes was administered. Seventy percent of the participants were Caucasian, 65% were married, and 81% were first-time parents. HFS knowledge increased significantly from baseline to recall (45±12% vs. 87±17% correct responses, p<0.0001), but declined to 75±18% correct at retention. That is, an individual's baseline scores nearly doubled at recall (42±11% change in baseline score), but only increased by 67% at retention (30±15% change in baseline score). For a subsample of parents who completed the USFA Checklist (n=22), the mean percentage of advocated practices followed was 71±11% (range: 40-89%). Using DVDs was an effective educational modality for increasing HFS knowledge. This addressed an important problem of decreasing burns in infants through increasing parent knowledge and HFS practices using a short, inexpensive DVD.

Community partnership to promote home fire safety in children with special needs.

BACKGROUND: Parents of children with special needs are vigilant as their child may have difficulty independently escaping a burning home. The purpose of this study was to evaluate if providing home fire safety information via a digital video disc (DVD) increases families' knowledge, behavior and ability regarding home fire safety. METHODS: A school based classroom intervention (using a home fire safety DVD) was provided to parents (n=40) of children with and without special needs to improve home fire safety knowledge, behavior and ability. In addition, parents seen at the Kentucky Commission for Children with Special Health Care Needs clinics (n=47) received the same intervention in cohorts of 1-2 children. For both groups, knowledge, and behavior were measured before and after intervention. Repeated measures ANOVA were used to test for differences between groups and over time. Significance was set at p<0.05. RESULTS: No difference in scores between pre- and post-test scores existed between groups (with special needs vs. without special needs, or classroom vs. individualized instruction). However, some differences were noted for some individual survey questions during post-hoc comparisons. Having a smoke alarm in the home (90% vs. 95%, p=0.029) and having a smoke alarm outside of where everyone sleeps (75% vs. 95%, p=0.005) increased over time and was retained. Having a fire escape plan increased at post intervention (58% vs. 79%, p=0.033), but returned to pre levels at follow-up (58%). Perceived knowledge (7.7 vs. 9.3, p<0.001) and ability (8.7 vs. 9.1, p=0.069) increased over time. IMPLICATION FOR PRACTICE: Parents of children with special needs had a significant increase in knowledge and behavior over those parents of children without special needs. They also perceived having a high fire safety ability. Many of the post-test questions/behaviors (e.g., capable of exiting home during a fire, etc.) were reported at 100%. The intervention was well received, but may not necessarily be needed. Focus for home fire safety may need to look at younger children and smaller families. Parents of special needs children may have had frequent interaction with health care professionals.

Impact of children with special needs on differences in fire-safety education priorities, preferred method of education, and parent actions.

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.