Focus on Pediatrics-Age-specific education targets burn prevention
Information tailored to grade levels
Many of the burn cases at Shriners Hospitals for Children Northern California could have been prevented if certain safety measures had been followed. For example, many times children are burned by scalding hot liquid while helping in the kitchen.
Therefore, Catherine Gregory, CPNP, pediatric nurse practitioner for the burn service at Shriners in Sacramento, created a burn prevention program to get the message out. "To create the program, I picked elements from different programs of which I was aware," she says.
The program, offered to children from pre school through high school, is tailored to fit the needs of each age group. The curriculum is broken into the following four age groups:
• Preschool through first grade.
The attention span of this age group is short, so Gregory concentrates on teaching them how to stop, drop, and roll if their clothes catch on fire. She also shows a short video she obtained from State Farm Insurance that features a team of kids called the Smoke Busters who help a wealthy count get rid of all the fire hazards in his house. The team also helps the count create an escape plan in case of fire. (For information on the fire prevention video and kit by State Farm Insurance, see source box at the end of this article.)
• Second and third grade.
In this age group, Gregory reviews the stop, drop, and roll procedure with the children, shows the video, and goes through an exit drill in the home referred to as EDITH. "After the video, we discuss getting out of the house and how important it is for them to stay low," says Gregory. To illustrate the concept, the Shriners built a smoke tunnel that is a tube-like structure the children crawl through to experience the effect of going through the house when it is very dark.
Each child practices getting out of a bedroom by rolling off a cot and crawling through the tunnel. During the exercise, children are taught to feel any door they approach with the back of their hand to see if it is hot. "We encourage this because if they burn the front of their hand, they could potentially not be able to get themselves out of the house the rest of the way," says Gregory. They are also taught to put clothing under the door if smoke is entering the room and to crawl to a window and climb out.
After the activity, children are taught what types of liquids are good to pour on a fire and which ones are flammable.
• Grades four through six.
The older children discuss the fire triangle with the instructor. This covers the three ingredients needed to make a fire (fuel, heat, and oxygen). The children learn what happens when you add more of one ingredient and what happens when you take one away. While these children see the video, the information is delivered in a lecture format rather than by using role-playing, the teaching technique used with the younger children.
• Grades seven through 10.
This age group is given an anatomy lesson on skin and what first-, second- and third-degree burns look like. They are also shown photos of the burns. "I feel that at that age it is much more effective if they actually see a burn. We go through what grafting is and what a donor site is," says Gregory.
All who participate in the program receive a packet of information that includes the exit drill instructions and a diagram on which to create a plan, a burn prevention poster, and a T-shirt.
While Gregory will travel to other sites such as schools to present the burn prevention curriculum, most groups want to come to the hospital. They usually pack a lunch and eat it at the outdoor playground on the second floor, and a Shriner gives them a tour of the hospital.
Currently, only one class can be booked a month, but Gregory is training other instructors so burn prevention classes can be provided more frequently. "Often, school teachers will spend a week in the classroom focusing on fire prevention and put the program at Shriners in as part of the curriculum," says Gregory.
For more information on creating a burn prevention program for children, contact:
• Catherine Gregory, CPNP, Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, Burn Service, Shriners Hospitals for Children Northern California, 2425 Stockton Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95817. Telephone: (916) 453-2140.
The Smoke Detectives Kit is offered free of charge from State Farm Insurance. Contact Cindy Donovan, State Farm Insurance, Public Affairs, One State Farm Plaza, B-4, Bloomington, IL 61710. Telephone: (309) 763-8911. A free brochure detailing other available kits also is available.
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