Sequel on Boston’s Injury Control Historical Leadership (see ICEHS Newsletter, Archivist’s Attic, May 2006)
For another historical ‘tease‘ on our upcoming Annual APHA and Section Meetings, this year in Boston, here’s a 1960’s seminal evidenced-based causes and prevention short journal article, one of many assessed by Haddon in his classic Accident Research. Methods and Approaches (yes! he used the “A” word!), a unique historical leadership resource on aeronautical, motor vehicle, public and home injury control relevant to today’s national environmental health-injury control nexus: Edwin W. Brown. SPACE-HEATER HAZARDS New England Journal of Medicine, 265:794-795, 1961. In : Accident Research. Methods and Approaches. Haddon W, .Jr. (NYSDOH), Suchman, E. ( U of Pittsburgh) and Klein, D. (Association for the Aid of Crippled Children). Harper & Row Publishers, NY. 1964. 206-7.
Archvist’s Summary of the paper: Beginning in November 1959, a series of kerosene fuelled space heaters fire records of the Boston fire department, showed 159 Boston homes with fifteen deaths and 16 major burn injuries, mostly to children. The problem was not unique to Boston, but the nature of the fires and injuries had to then not been clearly trended nor defined. The identified defective heaters primarily flooded the combustion chamber with forcing excess oil from the tank into the storage chamber. The heaters bore the seal of the Underwriters’ Laboratory and subsequently was removed from its approved list. However, the problem of 40,000 similar units remained in Boston, alone. In response, the Boston Fire Department undertook in the summer and fall of 1960 a two fold program: the development of an inexpensive device that would resolve the cold-air expansion problem and a city wide educational program. As of March 15, 1961, only 6 space heater fires were recorded in Boston during that heating season.
Here’s Haddon’s main review of the paper: “The brief report excellently illustrates (1) the retrospective observation and reporting of a long-standing environmental hazard; (2) the deliberate and successful search for the pertinent characteristics of either the device or its use; (3) a hazard resulting from the design and construction of the device rather than from its use in ways unanticipated by its producers—it being assumed here that it is reasonable to expect that an oil heater should not explode simply because its tank is only partially filled; (4) the institution of a countermeasure program which included intensive public education, the search for and development of a mechanical control device, and the cessation of manufacture; and (5) the virtual elimination of these accidents through the first of these countermeasures in the remarkably short period of less than one year. However, the elimination of the problem in all areas could probably not be achieved with this educational approach. Rather, it would be much simpler and more effective to redesign the offending mechanism. This is an important point to note in the face of widespread attempts to offer public education as a remedy for the consequences of poor design.”
In synopsis, here’s Haddon’s final comments: The paper illustrates that it is sometimes possible to solve accident problems with straightforward and uncomplicated approaches and ignoring more academic approaches (see June Newsletter Archivist Attic , for other examples); however, consider controlled research to determine whether the characteristic is more often associated with such injury or only rarely, to avoid considerable work.
May all our work at and after APHA Boston use similar evidenced- based research and leadership arts, paradigms.
Copyrighted 2006 Les Fisher. Opinions are mine alone.