Citation

Sinha I, Patel A, Kim FS, Maccorkle ML, Watkins JF. J. Burn Care Res. 2011; 32(4): e112-7.

Affiliation

Division of Plastic Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; Section of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut; Division of Trauma and Burn Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; and West Virginia Department of Education, Charleston.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, American Burn Association, Publisher Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1097/BCR.0b013e3182223c6f

PMID

21593680

Abstract

Burns in developing countries account for significant morbidity and many occur within the pediatric population. This study investigates whether a comic book can increase burn awareness in primary school age children, both domestic and abroad. Based on demographic data regarding pediatric burns in developing nations, a comic book was developed to educate primary school age children on key risk factors regarding burn safety, including teaching children to not touch active stoves, not lighting fireworks without supervision, and to "stop, drop, and roll" after burn injury. Students, aged 5 to 7 years, in both West Virginia, United States (N = 74), and West Bengal, India (N = 39), answered a three-question survey regarding these issues both before and after reading the comic book. Groups were compared using Fisher's exact test and significance was defined as P < .05. Initially, students answered 67.8 and 66.9% of the questionnaire correctly overall in West Virginia and West Bengal, respectively. These scores improved to 81.6 and 99.1% (P < .01 for each groups), respectively, after reading the comic as a class. Specifically, there were significant increases in both groups for the questions regarding avoiding hot stoves (P < .01) and fireworks (P < .01). The lesson required 30 minutes total per class. The teachers reported that students enjoyed reading the comic and were engaged during the sessions. This study demonstrates that a comic book has value in teaching children about burn awareness. Comic books may be a cost-effective method as an outreach tool for children.

Language: en