Researchers reveal formula for success in increasing smoke alarm use

SmokeAlarm
15 Dec 2011 13:12:35.937
PA 392/11

The most effective strategy to encourage more people to have a working smoke alarm in their homes has been revealed by a team of healthcare researchers.

A combined approach of offering education, free or low-cost equipment and a home safety inspection is likely to have the most impact, the study by a research team involving academics from the Universities of Leicester, York and Nottingham has discovered. The study was funded by a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Programme Grant.

The study, believed to be the first of its kind, also looked at which types of smoke alarms were best to fit in order to guarantee the most reliable working smoke alarm and ionization alarms with lithium batteries came out on top.

Click here for full story

Published in this month’s Epidemiologic Reviews, the research offers a valuable insight into the most effective combination of interventions for future public safety campaigns promoting the use of smoke alarms in the home.

Professor Denise Kendrick, in the Division of Primary Care at The University of Nottingham, is a specialist in accidental injury and the prevention of accidents among children and was one of the academics involved in the project.

She said: “Our findings confirm that the approach used by the UK Fire and Rescue service is likely to be the most effective way of getting homes protected with fitted and working alarms. Fire and Rescue services offer free home fire risk assessments; they will visit homes to advise on fire safety, they will help people devise a plan for how to escape if there is a fire and may also fit free smoke alarms. Our work shows that the combination of giving advice, doing a safety inspection and providing free or low cost alarms is likely to work best. If we are to continue to see a reduction in the number of house fire-related deaths, it is vital that home fire risk assessments including the provision of free or low cost alarms are maintained. ”

Every year around the world, fire-related injuries result in more than 300,000 deaths and 10 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), which combine the years of life lost due to premature death and the years of productive life lost due to disability after an injury.

Smoke alarms have been hailed as one of the most successful methods of reducing fire-related injuries in higher-income countries and it has been estimated that in the US alone every $1 spent on smoke alarms saves $28 in healthcare costs. Despite this, even in higher income countries the use of smoke alarms is not universal.

The study involved a sophisticated statistical analysis of 20 previous studies which looked at a range of ways of trying to encourage people to have smoke alarms including offering education on the risks of remaining unprotected, increasing access to, or affordability of alarms, helping families to fit alarms and home inspections to check alarms are functional.

The study found that the most intensive approach which used a combination of all these factors worked the best but, because this was also likely to be the most costly, further research is needed to establish which interventions also provide the best value for money.

Further study is also required because, although 20 studies were included in the review, some comparisons of individual factors involved a smaller number of studies.

The study involved a collaborative research team from the Department of Health Sciences at The University of Leicester, the Centre for Health Economics at The University of York and the Division of Primary Care at The University of Nottingham.

— Ends —

For up to the minute media alerts, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/UoNPressOffice

Notes to editors:  The University of Nottingham, described by The Sunday Times University Guide 2011 as ‘the embodiment of the modern international university’, has award-winning campuses in the United Kingdom, China and Malaysia. It is ranked in the UK's Top 10 and the World's Top 75 universities by the Shanghai Jiao Tong (SJTU) and the QS World University Rankings. It was named ‘Europe’s greenest university’ in the UI GreenMetric World University Ranking, a league table of the world’s most environmentally-friendly higher education institutions, which ranked Nottingham second in the world overall.

The University is committed to providing a truly international education for its 40,000 students, producing world-leading research and benefiting the communities around its campuses in the UK and Asia. Impact: The Nottingham Campaign, its biggest ever fund-raising campaign, will deliver the University’s vision to change lives, tackle global issues and shape the future. For more details, visit: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/impactcampaign

More than 90 per cent of research at The University of Nottingham is of international quality, according to the most recent Research Assessment Exercise, with almost 60 per cent of all research defined as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’. Research Fortnight analysis of RAE 2008 ranked the University 7th in the UK by research power. The University’s vision is to be recognised around the world for its signature contributions, especially in global food security, energy & sustainability, and health.

More news from the University at:

http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/news

Story credits

More information is available from Professor Denise Kendrick on +44 (0)115 846 6914, denise.kendrick@nottingham.ac.uk

Emma Thorne Emma Thorne - Media Relations Manager

Email: emma.thorne@nottingham.ac.uk Phone: +44 (0)115 951 5793 Location: University Park

Additional resources

No additional resources for this article

Related articles

Nicotine patches 'ineffective' in pregnancy

Published Date
Thursday 22nd March 2012

Parents views sought on childhood obesity risk

Published Date
Monday 5th December 2011

Financial help for social work training at Nottingham

Published Date
Thursday 15th December 2011

Guide dog researcher awarded another accolade

Published Date
Tuesday 22nd November 2011

Accident app to reduce motorist stress and combat fraud

Published Date
Monday 17th October 2011

Can smart meters make us greener?

Published Date
Tuesday 20th September 2011

Tackling the most common food poisoning

Published Date
Friday 9th September 2011

Scientists invent heat-regulating building material

Published Date
Wednesday 6th July 2011

Media Relations - External Relations

The University of Nottingham
YANG Fujia Building
Jubilee Campus
Wollaton Road
Nottingham, NG8 1BB

telephone: +44 (0) 115 951 5798
email: pressoffice@nottingham.ac.uk