ARE WE MAKING AN IMPACT - A REVIEW OF A BURN PREVENTION PROGRAM IN ISRAELI SCHOOLS

In an attempt to challenge the immense toll of burn and scald injuries among children in Israel, a structured educational program was develo ped by our university center for plastic surgery in Beer-Sheva. Since 1986, more than 250,000 children and 10,000 teachers, in more than 460 elementary schools nationwide, have been exposed to our program. This article reviews the design of the program, the implementation procedu res, and the studies evaluating its effectiveness. The studies reveale d significant improvements in children's risk-related knowledge and in jury-control beliefs. Both teachers and principals assessed the progra m as important, and the in-training workshops and intervention activit ies won high approval. An overall trend of reduction in the number of patients hospitalized with burn injuries in the southern part of Israe l was found also. Although it is clear that: the project is instructiv e, further comprehensive efforts are needed to make a dramatic nationw ide impact. Some of the efforts already underway target the most vulne rable group of the non-Jewish population in Israel.