NATIONAL SCALD CAMPAIGN – AN UPDATE

 

 UPDATE: In 2011 five national fire, burn and life safety organizations completed development of a National Scald Prevention Toolkit. Thousands of these Kits will be mailed by year-end to community safety and injury prevention educators acrossAmerica. These same national collaborators have now begun implementation of Phase II of this project. This includes the selection of five pilot test sites in theU.S.to work with the National Scald Prevention Campaign Steering Committee to conduct a multi-disciplinary roll-out of the Campaign materials within their respective service areas. Pilot Test Site lead agencies will be asked to attend a national implementation workshop, engage other organizations in local implementation and thoroughly evaluate the implementation process and effectiveness of the tools provided.    

ORIGINAL NATIONAL SCALD PREVENTION CAMPAIGN ARTICLE

FBF members will soon have the opportunity to play a significant role in the National Scald Prevention Campaign (NSPC). The campaign design closely reflects the FBF’s mission, “to empower burn-related organizations to better serve their communities”. Current drafts of campaign tools drew helpful suggestions and high marks at a recent webinar which attracted 66 participants from theUS andCanada.

Scalds comprise up to 40% of all burn injuries, typically resulting from spills of hot foods or liquids, or from exposure to hot tap water. Yet for the general public, burn injury is mainly associated with fire and flames.

Firefighters, ironically, are often more aware of scalds than the rest of their communities, through their support of local burn centers and burn support groups. The International Association of Fire Fighters Burn Foundation (IAFFBF) accordingly has taken the lead in securing a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to strengthen awareness and prevention of scald injury.

The campaign tool kit, drawing on the scald component of an American Burn Association (ABA) burn prevention package prepared in 2006-7, includes an Educators Guide, a PowerPoint presentation and sample copies of fact sheets. Both English and Spanish versions will be available by year end.

The materials focus in particular on those aged 0-4, who suffer 40% of all scald injuries, highlighting the risks and describing behavioral and equipment modifications needed to reduce their occurrence. Parents and other caregivers to that age group are the primary target audiences for the program, which is envisioned as a multi-year project. Similar segments focus on addressing the special risks of scald injury to older adults and those with disabilities.

“The campaign structure is really about local capacity building,” notes Jim Floros, Executive Director ofSan Diego’s Burn Institute, who represents the FBF on the NSPC Steering Committee. “We’re empowering local burn organizations, burn centers and fire departments to carry out campaigns in their areas by providing the necessary education materials, resources and training. We view this as a multi-year project, supported by a website encouraging consistent messaging and providing feedback on local results”.

Other organizations represented on the Steering Committee include the ABA Burn Prevention Committee, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, and the Home Safety Council. IAFF Burn Foundation Director Tony Burke serves as Program Coordinator.