Up to ten competing activities were at times running simultaneously, so it was difficult for any one individual to gain a comprehensive view of the whole conference. The opening session was chaired jointly by Dr. Wim Rogmans and Professor Jan Moraal, both well known in injury prevention circles. After the usual political statements from government personnel there were presentations from representatives of the USA and of India. This immediately pointed out the very different circumstances under which various human societies exist and the differing perspectives they have of what is important in their daily lives. The pattern of burn and scald injuries is very similar in Holland and Australia, and indeed in all similarly advanced countries.
Scalds tend to be more frequent than burns.
Hot tea and coffee are the main scalding agents. Parental inattention to the child, often for very small periods of time, is a frequent finding. It follows that children under 5 years of age in immigrant families are therefore particularly at risk of burns and scalds. This is partly because the immigrants often have little money and rent cheap accommodation from uncaring landlords who take no interest in the temperature of the hot water supplied in their premises. Dr. Kok of the University of Limburg in The Netherlands set out a very good protocol for tackling health promotion and injury prevention issues such as scalds in children.