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    Increasing smoke alarm operability through theory-based health education: a randomised trial

    Access Status
    Open access via publisher
    Authors
    Miller, Ted
    Bergen, G.
    Ballasteros, M.
    Battacharya, S.
    Gielen, A.
    Sheppard, M.
    Date
    2014
    Collection
    • Curtin Research Publications
    Type
    Journal Article
    Metadata
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    Abstract

    Background - Although working smoke alarms halve deaths in residential fires, many households do not keep alarms operational. We tested whether theory-based education increases alarm operability. Methods - Randomised multiarm trial, with a single arm randomly selected for use each day, in low-income neighbourhoods in Maryland, USA. Intervention arms: (1) Full Education combining a health belief module with a social-cognitive theory module that provided hands-on practice installing alarm batteries and using the alarm's hush button; (2) Hands-on Practice social-cognitive module supplemented by typical fire department education; (3) Current Norm receiving typical fire department education only. Four hundred and thirty-six homes recruited through churches or by knocking on doors in 2005–2008. Follow-up visits checked alarm operability in 370 homes (85%) 1–3.5 years after installation. Main outcome measures: number of homes with working alarms defined as alarms with working batteries or hard-wired and number of working alarms per home. Regressions controlled for alarm status preintervention; demographics and beliefs about fire risks and alarm effectiveness. Results - Homes in the Full Education and Practice arms were more likely to have a functioning smoke alarm at follow-up (OR=2.77, 95% CI 1.09 to 7.03) and had an average of 0.32 more working alarms per home (95% CI 0.09 to 0.56). Working alarms per home rose 16%. Full Education and Practice had similar effectiveness (p=0.97 on both outcome measures). Conclusions - Without exceeding typical fire department installation time, installers can achieve greater smoke alarm operability. Hands-on practice is key. Two years after installation, for every three homes that received hands-on practice, one had an additional working alarm.

    Citation
    Miller, T. and Bergen, G. and Ballasteros, M. and Battacharya, S. and Gielen, A. and Sheppard, M. 2014. Increasing smoke alarm operability through theory-based health education: a randomised trial. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. 68: pp. 1168-1174.
    Source Title
    Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/39350
    DOI
    10.1136/jech-2014-204182
    Department
    Centre for Population Health Research

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