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New Zealand children's involvement in home activities that carry a burn or scald risk

Department of Psychology, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand

Correspondence to: Niki Harré (e-mail: n.harre{at}auckland.ac.nz).

Objectives—The self reported involvement of elementary schoolchildren from Auckland, New Zealand was measured for home activities that carry a burn or scald risk.

Method—A survey was conducted with 421 children aged 7–13 years. The survey asked children whether they carried out specific home activities involving hot water, fire, or appliances that carry a burn risk. It also measured their knowledge of the three basic fire safety messages taught to New Zealand schoolchildren by the fire service.

Results—The results showed that although involvement levels increased with age, the majority of even the youngest children reported carrying out a number of the risky activities, such as preparing hot drinks, running their own baths, or using a microwave without help. No gender differences were found in the number of risky activities engaged in. Significant ethnic differences were found, with higher risk involvement by indigenous Maori and children of Pacific Island descent than children of European or Asian descent. Each of the three fire safety messages were correctly identified by between 79%–91% of the children.

Conclusions—Investigation of children's involvement in household activities that carry an injury risk may help in the design of prevention strategies, including school based education. Prevention efforts need to acknowledge the ages at which children begin to undertake specific household tasks, including those that involve care for younger siblings, and be attuned to the needs of different ethnic groups.

Keywords: burns and scalds; household activities; school based education

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