Effectiveness of an awareness programme on burn prevention and first aid among grade 10 students of type 1 and 2 schools in Kesbewa Divisional area, Piliyandala educational zone, Colombo District, Sri Lanka

Abstract

Abstract - Burns are one of the most common household injuries, especially among children. Burn education is a must for reduce the levels of morbidity and mortality rate due to burns. This study was based on one group pretest posttest design and it was carried out to determine the effectiveness of an awareness programme on burn prevention and first aid among grade 10 students of type 1 and 2 schools in Kesbewa area. Stratified random sampling and cluster sampling were used to select schools and participants of the study. A selfadministered pretested questionnaire was administered to 321 school children of grade 10, in order to obtain the sociodemographic data and to assess the previous knowledge on burn prevention and first aid. An awareness programme was developed and conducted to all the participants of the study on key factors regarding burn prevention and first aid for burns. Students answered the same self-administered questionnaire after seven days of awareness programme. There were 188 (59%) males and 133 (41%) females. According to the paired sample t test results, the average knowledge score of burn prevention before the awareness programme was 79.25 and after the awareness programme it was 91.43. Mean difference of marks was 12.18. Similarly, the mean difference between pre and post-test scores on first aid was 23.09. The average mark of the students after the awareness programme is significantly different from the average mark before the awareness programme (p < 0.05). This study demonstrated that the awareness programme on burn prevention and first aid was effective for improving knowledge of grade 10 students in Kesbewa area. It is suggested to use this awareness programme further as an effective strategy to increase the awareness of school children on burn prevention and first aid for burns.