Goals: The North Carolina Residential Fire Project was conducted to assess the effectiveness of using local home visitation programs to identify and implement a rural fire prevention program in populations at elevated risk of fire-related injury .
Methods: The program was conducted in six rural eastern North Carolina counties. Participating home visitation programs in the local communities included the health departments, home health agencies, councils on aging, and meals of wheels. High risk households are considered those with children ages 5 and younger and/or adults ages 65 and older. Minority populations and those living in poverty are also at elevated risk of fire-related injury. Eligibility and use of home visitation services was considered a useful predictor of fire injury risk status.
Results: Home visitors identified 1,127 residences in the six-county region over an 18 month period. One-third of the households visited contained a child aged 5 or under with 40.4% having occupants 65 years old or older and 20.5% having one or more occupant 80 or more years old. A majority of household residents were minority (5% Latino, 64% African American) and had annual family incomes of less than $15,000 (51%). Almost one-third of the residences did not have a smoke detector with one-third of installed smoke detectors found inoperable. A large percentage of families used kerosene heaters.
Conclusions: Based upon results of the North Carolina Residential Fire Project, we conclude that home visitation is an efficient method to target fire prevention programs to high risk rural populations.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to: 1. Describe the North Carolina Residential Fire Injury Prevention Program 2. Recognize the potential benefits of using home visitation programs for fire injury prevention 3. Assess the degree to which this program will be useful in their state or local area.
Keywords: Injury Prevention, Home Visiting
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.