Epidemiologic characteristics, knowledge and risk factors of unintentional burns in rural children in Zunyi, Southwest China

We investigated the knowledge level and risk factors for pediatric unintentional burns in rural Southwest China with an aim to provide basic evidence for the prevention strategies. A stratified sampling method was used to recruit 1842 rural children from 9 schools. Self-reported burns during the past 12 months and relevant risk factors were collected by questionnaires. The burn incidence of all surveyed children was 12.7% (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 11.2–14.2%). We found that burn incidence had a trend to increase with the increasing school grade level and a trend to decrease with increasing knowledge scores on burns. The top two causes of burns were hot liquids (36.3%) and hot object (29.5%). More than 30% of children had little knowledge about preventive measures and how to give first-aid after burns. The main risk factors for burns included female gender, left-behind children by parents who were working in cities, and poor mother school education level. As the incidence of pediatric unintentional burns was high in rural southwest China, schools, families, and local public health agencies should put efforts into health education targeting burn prevention and first-aid measures after burns, particularly in “left-behind” children and those with mothers with poor education.