Awareness on Prevention and First Aid Management of Burn Injury among Adolescents

Abstract Background: Burn means more than the burning sensation associated with injury. Burns are characterized by severe skin damage that causes the affected skin cells to die. Burns are causes for mortality and morbidity worldwide among all age groups. An estimated 180 000 deaths every year are caused by burns – the vast majority occur in low- and middle-income countries.1 Non-fatal burn injuries are a leading cause of morbidity. Burns occur mainly in the home and workplace. Burns are preventable. Burns are one of the most common household injuries, especially among children. Most people can recover from burns without serious health consequences, depending on the cause and degree of injury. More serious burns require immediate emergency medical care to prevent complications and death. The objective of the study was to find out the awareness on prevention and first aid management of burn injury among adolescents. Materials and methods: A descriptive exploratory study was conducted, using self administered questionnaire. Data was collected from 101 students of class VIII and IX of Shree Prithvi Narayan Secondary School at Tarkeshwor ward no. 5, Kathmandu. Descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage and mean was used to analyze the data. Level of awareness was categorized as: 75%= Adequate level of awareness. Results: In this study, respondents were between 12-16 years of age with mean age 14.20 years. Among them 54.5% were female and 45.5% were male. Regarding level of burn injury prevention awareness 15.8% of the respondents had inadequate, 40.6% had moderate and 43.6% had adequate awareness. Likewise, 4.9% of the respondents had inadequate awareness, 71.3% had moderate awareness and 23.8% had adequate awareness on first aid management of burn injury. Conclusion: The study concluded that respondents had adequate awareness on prevention of burn injury but moderate awareness on first aid management of burn injury. Therefore, awareness raising programme are to be conducted on school and need to keep in school curriculum with adequate content for effective knowledge on burn prevention and first aid management. Key words: adolescents, awareness, burn injury, first aid management, prevention