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Fire and Burn Injury Interventions
Fire Skills Training
Background
Purpose of this training is to prepare
children to react properly in an emergency and teaches them what actions to
take once a fire breaks out.
Review of fire skills training
interventions:
Author | Holmes, 1996 |
Study design and target population | Randomized controlled trial, single blinded.
56 children ages 9 to 10 years from middle-class
university community in southwest Virginia.
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Intervention | Three different educational techniques designed
to teach fire-safety emergency skills.
Evaluation of cognitive-behavioral
methods vs. computer-mediated methods.
Group 1 (behavioral, n=14) Group
2 (computer animated-graphics, n=13)
Group 3 (computer still-graphics,
n=15)
Group 4 (control, n=15)
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Outcomes | Assessment of fire-safety knowledge and skill performance,
pre and post intervention.
Skills assessed via Behavioral Observation Checklist
(BOC).
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Results | ANCOVA used to evaluate behavioral skills, adjusting
for baseline performance.
Significant gains in skill performance
for all three test groups with no change in control group skills. Largest
gains in Group 1 (behavioral) post-test mean (X=11.0), Group 2(X=8.85),
Group 3(X=2.93).
All three intervention groups demonstrated
similar knowledge gains with no change for controls.
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Study quality and conclusions | Behavioral training methods are most successful
way to teach fire safety skills. Computer animated graphics techniques are
best used as a supplement to behavioral methods.
We do not know how this translates into
real-world behavior.
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Author | Hillman, 1983 |
Study design and target population | Randomized controlled trial, single blinded
Elementary school children ages 7-10, East Liberty
section, Pittsburgh, PA (n=60).
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Intervention | Different behavioral methods for acquisition and
maintenance of fire-safety skills.
Group 1 (EMR/no overlearning)
Group 2 (MMR/overlearning)
Group 3 (EMR/overlearning)
Group 4 (MMR/no overlearning)
Elaborate memory rehearsal(EMR).
Maintenance memory rehearsal (MMR)
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Outcomes | Performance of fire safety skills evaluated at
2 weeks, 1, 2, and 3 months post- training.
Subject trained and tested in simulated
"bedrooms" at school.
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Results | Significant difference between EMR/overlearning
group and other 3 groups (p<0.01 and <0.05.).
90% proficiency rate vs. 74%, 74% and 66% for Groups
1-4, respectively.
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Study quality and conclusions | Elaborate memory rehearsal combined with overlearning
most successful of 4 methods tested.
It is difficult to say what these
results mean in terms of actual behavior. (knowledge is not sufficient
for behavior change)
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Summary of fire skills training
interventions
The two studies reviewed found improvement
in fire safety skills following a training program using behavioral training
supplemented by computer training or techniques using elaborate memory rehearsal
and overlearning.
Recommendations on fire skills
training programs
Studies show increase in knowledge but
there is no information to indicate these educational techniques produce behavior
change in a fire situation.
Recommendations for future
research
A well designed and carefully conducted
case control study should be done to determine if fire skills training is protective
for burn injuries.
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