Miss Hannah Coulter¹, Ms Tamsin Mahoney¹, Ms Biba Wythes², Dr Bronwyn Griffin^3,4, Associate Professor Leila  Cuttle^5,6,7, Professor Roy Kimble^6,7,8

¹Queensland Children’s Hospital, Occupational Therapy Department, South Brisbane, Australia, ²Children’s Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service, South Brisbane, Australia, ³School of Nursing, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia, ⁴Centre for Children’s Health Research, South Brisbane, Australia, ⁵School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia, ⁶Centre for Children’s Burns and Trauma Research, South Brisbane, Australia, ⁷Centre for Children’s Health Research, South Brisbane, Australia, ⁸Queensland Children’s Hospital Pegg Ledistchke Children’s Burns Centre, South Brisbane, Australia

Abstract:

Campfire awareness across the ages: move over media release – make room for #SocialMedia

Introduction

Camping is a rite of passage for Queenslanders, with approximately 430,000 campers spending 1.1 million nights under the stars annually. In 2018, 78 children sustained a campfire related burn. The Pegg Ledistchke Children’s Burns Centre (PLCBC) has demonstrated that targeted public awareness campaigns are likely to decrease the incidence of campfire burns.

The purpose of this study was to explore whether an education campaign utilising social media would result in reduced numbers of campfire related burns in children.

Method

The Children’s Health Queensland Media and Communications team hosted a targeted campfire awareness campaign using social media algorithms during the 2019 Easter period.

The campaign involved posts and sponsored ads with a mix of image and text, interactive polls and animation videos that targeted parents through to outdoor enthusiasts.

A retrospective clinical audit of campfire related burns was completed utilising data from the Queensland Paediatric Burns Registry across three Easter periods (2017, 2018, 2019). Data collected included patient demographics, age, Total Body Surface Area, burn depth, surgical and Occupational Therapy management.

Results

Analysis of engagement strategies over the three-week period revealed:

• Total reach = 125,750
• Total impressions = 184,013
• Total engagements = 26,837

Data analysis comparing the Easter periods over the last three years will demonstrate the effect of different styles of campaigns.

Discussion

It has been demonstrated that targeted education campaigns may reduce the incidence of campfire burns in children. The purpose of this clinical audit is to assess whether an education campaign utilising social media is as successful as previous campaigns.

Biography:

Hannah is an Occupational Therapist at the Queensland Children’s Hospital Pegg Ledistchke Children’s Burns Centre with a passion for keeping kids active and engaged in what’s meaningful to them, whilst working collaboratively with colleagues, patients and their families to decrease the lifelong impact of a burn injury.