Are parents in the UK equipped to provide adequate burns first aid?
Section snippets
Background
First aid is the emergency care given before regular medical aid can be obtained [1]. People without formal medical training and with scarce resources will often be required to practice first aid. Whilst administering first aid, the care provider may face significant psychological and environmental stress. Therefore, any intervention should be simple, effective, universally accessible and taught in a memorable, logical sequence. First aid should not hinder later wound assessment or management
Participants
Parents in the waiting room of Sheffield Children's Hospital outpatient department were approached between January 2009 and April 2009 and asked to complete a structured interview on burns first aid. Parents attending the burn clinic, or whose child had previously been treated on a burn unit were excluded from the study.
Demographics
Parents who agreed to take part in the study were asked to state their age group (<20 years, 20–30 years, 31–40 years, and >40 years); their ethnic origin; and whether or not
Demographics
One hundred and eighty nine parents responded. One parent did not state their age or ethnicity: they were therefore excluded from all further analysis (n = 188). One further parent did not specify their age: they were therefore excluded from any further analysis by age (n = 187 for analysis by age). The modal age range was 30–40 years. One hundred and fifty-two parents (80%) were white British. Thirty-six parents (20%) from thirteen other ethnic groups also responded.
There was no significant
Discussion
This study was carried out following a series of admissions where scalded children were kept in their hot soaked clothes and were not cooled properly while awaiting paramedics. There is a significant body of literature on burn care following hospital admission, examining dressings, surgery, nutrition, outcome and medical management. There have also been notable improvements in burn prevention in the community, following campaigns for flame retardant furniture and clothing [7], capped
Conclusions
Less than 10% of parents questioned would treat a serious scald in a 2-year-old by stripping their clothes, turning on the tap for 10 min, organising help and putting on a plastic film dressing. Appropriate burn cooling and dressing are a particular problem amongst ethnic minority parents in Yorkshire. The STOP mnemonic may be a useful aid to help with the education of parents, and will be used in a pilot educational campaign in the local area, with possible expansion nationwide.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Brigitte Garcia de Jager, Statistics Tutor, Maths and Statistics Help (MASH), Learning and Teaching Services, University of Sheffield, The Octagon Centre M15-17, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TQ, United Kingdom (Tel.: +44 0114 222 1745) for the statistical support.
http://web.anglia.ac.uk/numbers/index.html.
Bio measurement Calculation Sheet by Toby Carter & Dawn Hawkins (www.biomeasurement.net).
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Cited by (29)
Evaluating parental knowledge of pediatric burns first aid in Ireland and the effectiveness of an educational intervention improving knowledge
2022, BurnsCitation Excerpt :Previous studies have reported similar levels of knowledge among parents. Graham, et al. in the UK reported similar findings of parental knowledge of the use of cool water (73%) and obtaining medical advice (88%) as correct steps of pediatric burns first aid [29]. They also found low levels of knowledge of removing clothing from burns (40%) and covering with cling film or clean cloth.
Inaccurate, inadequate and inconsistent: A content analysis of burn first aid information online
2016, BurnsCitation Excerpt :The inadequate first aid treatments noted were irrespective of burn size. While many studies report that parents/caregivers initially cool the burn with water, few applied it for the recommended time [14,16,17,39]. It is not surprising that there is confusion about burn first aid among parents and caregivers as there are also variations in recommended burn first aid treatments between countries and organizations within countries [40].