Qualitative evaluation of paediatric burn injury in Malawi: assessing opportunities for injury prevention

Abstract

Introduction The burden of burn injury in sub-Saharan Africa is high and children bare a disproportional share of the injury burden. Methods This is a prospective qualitative study of paediatric burn survivors (age, ≤8 years) admitted to Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH) in Lilongwe, Malawi. Results There were a total of 72 guardians interviewed for the purpose of the study. The most frequent mechanisms of burn injury were flames and scalds in 44.4% and 38.9%, respectively. Mothers were present at the time of the burn injury in only 23.6% of cases, while 22.2% of children were unmonitored at the time of injury. A total of 55.6% of burn injuries was cooking-related. Conclusion Burn prevention strategies are necessary for addressing the high rates of burns for children in sub-Saharan Africa. The must be focused on mothers and caregivers burn education in the home, particularly as it relates to cooking and parental oversight.