Randomised controlled trial of thermostatic mixer valves in reducing bath hot tap water temperature in families with young children in social housing
Introduction Approximately 2000 emergency department attendances and 500 hospital admissions following bath water scalds to children occur in the UK each year.1 Admissions mostly occur in children aged under 5 years, often involving prolonged inpatient stays , transfer to a specialist hospital or burns unit.1 The cost of treating a severe scald has been estimated at £250<TS, thin space here>000.1 Longer- term effects include disability , disfigurement or psychological harm. What is already known on this topic ▶ Hot bath water scalds are an important public health problem ; their incidence has not declined over recent years. ▶ Thermostatic mixing valves (TMVs) have the potential to reduce scald risk but there have been no randomised controlled trials assessing their effectiveness and acceptability to families. What this study adds ▶ TMVs and educational leaflets are effective in reducing bath hot tap water temperature in the short and longer term and are acceptable to famil...