title: Impact of a community based fire prevention intervention on fire safety knowledge and behavior in elementary school children.
abstract: The objective of this study was to determine the impact of a community based fire prevention intervention directed only to parents on the fire safety knowledge and behavior in elementary school children. This was a prospective, quasi-randomized controlled study in which third and fourth grade students from two elementary schools in an urban, poor, minority community completed knowledge/behavior surveys at baseline and following completion of the intervention. The intervention group received an in-home visit from fire department personnel who installed free lithium smoke detectors and provided a fire escape plan. After accounting for a small difference in baseline summary scores of knowledge and behavior between the control and intervention groups, this study found a modest improvement in fire safety behavior among children whose families received a fire prevention intervention reflecting a change in household fire safety practices. However, there was no significant change in fire safety knowledge.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, INOVA Fairfax Hospital Falls Church, VA 22042, USA. vivhwang@cox.net
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.forename: G P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Duchossois
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Garcia-Espana
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Durbin
mesh_terms: D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005390:Fires / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015438:Health Behavior; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D015143:Philadelphia; D011446:Prospective Studies