More than 8,000 people are hospitalized each year in France. These injuries, which are often preventable, have serious consequences in terms of mortality and long-term complications.
Reducing the number of burn injuries is a major public health challenge.
That is why Santé publique France conducts epidemiological surveillance of burn victims and generates knowledge that is useful for implementing preventive measures.

Epidemiological surveillance of burn victims

Santé publique France has established a surveillance program for burn victims based on:

• Analysis of hospitalization data for burns from the Program for the Medicalization of Information Systems in Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics, and Dentistry (PMSI-MCO)

• Analysis of fire-related mortality data from the CépiDc death certificate database

PMSI-MCO data enable the description of the demographic profile and care of hospitalized burn victims, as well as the calculation of hospitalization incidence rates, severity indicators, and in-hospital mortality rates.

Burn Prevention in France

Several prevention measures—ranging from active prevention, which aims to change behaviors, to passive prevention, which aims to make the environment safer through regulations or legislation—have already been implemented in France.
These include:

• Limiting hot water temperature by decree on November 30, 2005

• The requirement, effective March 8, 2015, to install a standalone smoke detector (DAAF) in all residential units

• Various prevention initiatives in industrial settings

• Prevention programs initiated by various stakeholders (non-profits, insurance companies, schools, etc.)

• Prevention messages disseminated through the media.