Shriners Burns Hospital issued the following announcement.
Feb. 2–8, 2020, is Burn Awareness Week. During this time, Shriners Hospitals for Children launches its annual burn awareness and prevention campaign. Since the 1960s, Shriners Hospitals for Children has been a leader in burn care, research and education — and burn injury prevention is a key component in these efforts.
Burn Awareness Week is Shriners Hospitals for Children’s kickoff of a year-long educational campaign aimed at burn awareness and prevention. Free educational materials, available via the Be Burn Aware webpage, are designed to be a resource for firefighters, teachers, parents and others concerned with the safety and well-being of children.
Building on the theme “Be Burn Aware,” our focus is on preventing burn injuries in the home, because most preventable burn injuries occur in residences. Homes are the sites of thousands of burn injuries to children every year, including scalds, fire-related injuries and even electrical burns. Many of these types of incidents may be prevented by implementing some simple safety precautions.
“The most important point to remember is that burns are preventable,” said David Greenhalgh, M.D., chief of burns at Shriners Hospitals for Children — Northern California.
Consequently, educating parents and families about burn injuries is an important part of the mission of Shriners Hospitals for Children.
The burn awareness campaign features two child-friendly characters, Boots and Brewster – a caped, cuddly bear and a googly-eyed teapot – who are featured in activity books for children ages 3-7 and 8-12. The duo leads children through the various rooms of a house, pointing out dangers, and how to easily correct or avoid them. The coloring pages, word searches, cartoons and other activities are designed to grab children’s attention and present the information in a memorable, age-appropriate manner. The campaign also features various tip sheets and fact cards, all available online. Most of the materials are available in French and Spanish.
Shriners Hospitals has also created an animated video, Boots and Brewster: The Burn Awareness Pair, which kids are sure to enjoy. In the video (see below), Boots and Brewster take viewers on a fun and educational adventure to help them become more burn aware.
“Burn prevention strategies by Shriners Hospitals for Children and other organizations have resulted in a significant reduction in burn injuries in children and adolescents,” said George H. Thompson, M.D., interim chief medical officer of Shriners Hospitals for Children.
Shriners Hospitals for Children encourages everyone concerned with keeping children safe to visit the Be Burn Aware webpage for helpful burn prevention tips and information on how to order the free materials.
Original source can be found here.
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