Elsevier

Burns

Volume 38, Issue 8, December 2012, Pages 1151-1156
Burns

Burn survivors’ perceptions of rehabilitation

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.burns.2012.07.009Get rights and content

Abstract

Background

The perspectives of burn survivors offer a powerful tool in assessing the efficacy of burn therapy interventions and methods. Despite this potential wealth of data, comprehensive analysis of burn survivor feedback remains largely uninvestigated and underdocumented. The aim of this study was to evaluate specific burn therapy interventions based on the opinions of a sample of the burn community.

Methods

The survey was distributed to a convenience sample drawn from burn survivors attending the Phoenix Society's 21st Annual World Burn Congress in New York City, New York. Items of inquiry focused on therapeutic intervention and reintegration. The 164 surveys (a 44% response rate) returned included burn survivors from a variety of demographic segments and with burn injuries of disparate size, location, and severity. Interventions of interest included splinting and positioning, pressure garments, therapeutic exercise, group therapy, and nontraditional therapy. Respondents also rated the contribution of acute burn rehabilitation toward reintegration into familial, societal, and professional roles.

Results

The vast majority of respondents felt that the rehabilitative interventions they experienced positively affected their long-term physical and psychosocial outcomes. In the areas of improving movement and scarring and expediting reintegration and usefulness, the majority of applicable interventions generated “strongly agree” or “agree” as the most popular responses.

Conclusions

These findings support the efficacy of many practices employed by burn rehabilitation specialists and offer a glimpse into the inherent benefits found in assessment of burn survivors’ perspectives.

Introduction

As the survival rate continues to improve, an increasing population of patients with burn injuries relies on physical and occupational therapy to contribute to overall recovery and reassimilation into society. Although evidence and clinical outcomes support the efficacy of therapeutic interventions [1], limited data exists assessing the effectiveness of rehabilitation from the survivor's perspective. In accordance with previous studies that stress the importance of including burn survivors in discussions related to burn research [2], the viewpoints of patients represent an untapped reserve of beneficial information and constructive feedback [3].

Integrating analysis of burn survivors’ perspectives into the spectrum of efficacy studies offers a valuable method of addressing issues of the field, such as the lack of consensus regarding “standard of care” and “best practice,” and the propensity of burn rehabilitation improvements to occur primarily on an institutional level [4]. The purpose of this study is to report the efficacy of specific burn therapy interventions from the retrospection of burn survivors.

Section snippets

Participants and procedure

This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Weill Cornell Medical College. It used a convenience sample design. Surveys were made available to burn survivors attending the 2009 World Burn Congress in New York City, New York. The Congress is an annual international conference, organized by the Phoenix Society, that brings together burn survivors, families and caregivers, burn care professionals, and firefighters with the goal of increasing knowledge of burn recovery,

Respondent characteristics

Researchers received 164 surveys from 373 attendees who met the study's criteria (response rate = 44%). The sample featured a regional distribution throughout the United States (25% Midwest, 23% Northeast, 21% West, 15% South), as well as a small proportion of respondents from abroad (14% Canada, 1% United Kingdom, 1% India). Respondent age segments ranged from 18–25 years to 76–85 years, with the majority of participants in the 36–55 years segment (54.6%). More females (n = 96) responded than

Discussion

The study focused on assessing the efficacy of rehabilitative interventions based on the feedback and retrospection of burn survivors. In general, the vast majority of respondents agreed that the interventions of interest contributed significantly to recovery and reintegration. Concurrence appeared across the broad range of the sample's demographics. These findings strengthen prior clinical studies promoting the benefits of therapeutic rehabilitation for burn survivors [5]. In addition to

Conclusions

The perspectives of burn survivors represent a unique and direct source of information about current burn rehabilitation practices. By using feedback provided by those with first-hand experience, burn care specialists gain access to an adaptable yet consistent resource for assessing and evaluating current and future interventions. Coupled with clinical research, the perspectives of burn survivors offer a fundamental measure to support the value of burn rehabilitation methods.

Author disclosure statement

No competing financial interests exist.

Acknowledgments

Sam K. Yohannan, PT, DPT, MS would like to thank the co-investigators: Yamilette Ronda-Velez, PT, SPT, Daniel Alex Henriquez, BA, Hope Hunter, PT, Patricia A. Tufaro, OTR/L, Maureen Marren, PT, Malvina Sher, PT, Delia I. Gorga, PhD, OTR/L, and Roger W. Yurt, MD, FACS.

We thank the New York Firefighters Burn Center Foundation for its ongoing support and generosity, and the Phoenix Society for allowing us to conduct this survey study at the World Burn Congress. Additionally, we appreciate the

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