A Community‐based Programme for the Prevention of Burns and Scalds to Pre‐school Children

A New Zealand programme designed to reduce burns and scalds hazards in the home was trialled with seven groups of parents and caregivers of children under the age of five years. The programme was pictorially based and was taught by community educators in the first language of each of the groups involved. Participants were encouraged to target three safety changes to make in their homes. A self‐report pre‐post measure of the safety practices of the participants (n = 75) indicated that participants made an average of 1.35 targeted changes. A selection of participants (n = 21) were interviewed 3 months after the programme. Sixty‐eight percent of the positive practice changes made by these participants were reported to be sustained. The barriers to change that participants experienced and the strengths and problems with community‐based safety education are discussed.