Effectiveness of child burn prevention campaigns in Mongolia

Abstract

ObjectiveTo evaluate the effects of child burn prevention campaigns on medically attended burn injuries in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.MethodsWe conducted an interrupted time-series analysis using data on patients aged<5 years who were treated for burn injuries at the Emergency Department of the National Trauma and Orthopaedic Center from January 2009 to December 2018. Since the campaigns focused on scald prevention, we calculated the monthly rate of scald injuries per 10 000 children aged<5 years by sex and injury severity, regressing it on the number of months after January 2009 (the beginning of the study), after June 2014 (the first nationwide campaign started) and after January 2017 (the second facility-based campaign started).ResultsDuring the 10-year study period, there were 23 459 patients, of whom 18 433 (79%) were treated for scald injuries, including 6920 severe injuries. The monthly rate of overall scald injuries started to decrease after the first campaign, with a relative change of −32% at the end of the intervention. However, the rate started increasing before the initiation of the second campaign; this trend continued during and after the campaign. The rate of severe scald injuries did not show any significant changes throughout the study period. The results were consistent for both sexes.ConclusionsThe nationwide burn prevention campaign was effective in reducing non-severe burn injuries among young children. Since the campaign was primarily aimed at increasing public awareness of child burn injury risks, further interventions should be considered with passive measures to prevent severe burn injuries.