Abstract
Objectives: This qualitative study aimed to investigate: i) priorities of patients and healthcare professionals during recovery from a burn injury, ii) how priorities change over time, and ii) how priorities map to outcomes currently reported in burns research.
Design: Semi-structured interviews were conducted. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed and analysed thematically.
Setting, participants: A total of 53 patients and healthcare professionals were recruited from four National Health Service (NHS) burn services across England and Wales across England and Wales. Patient participants (n=32) included adults, adolescents, and parents of paediatric patients, with a variety of burn injuries in terms of severity and cause of burn injury. Healthcare professionals (n=21) were NHS staff members involved in burn care and included professionals with a range of clinical experience and roles (e.g. nurses, surgeons, occupational therapists, physiotherapist, administration).
Results: Ten themes relating to priorities (outcomes) during recovery from a burn injury were identified for patients and professionals. Of those, six were identified for patients and professionals (‘pain and discomfort’, ‘psychological wellbeing’, ‘healing’, ‘scarring’, ‘function’, ‘infection’), three were unique to professionals (‘patient knowledge, understanding & support’, ‘sense of control’, ’survival’) and one was unique to patients (‘uncertainty’). Results highlighted that importance of these priorities changes over time (e.g. ‘survival’ was only a concern in the short term). Likewise, priorities differed between patients and professionals (e.g. ‘pain’ was important to patients throughout their recovery, but not for professionals). Seven out of ten themes overlapped with outcomes commonly assessed in burn research.
Conclusion: Professionals’ and patients’ priorities (important outcomes) change over time after burn injury and differ between those groups. Burn care research should consider measuring outcomes at different time points during the recovery from a burn injury to accurately reflect complexity of burn recovery.
Design: Semi-structured interviews were conducted. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed and analysed thematically.
Setting, participants: A total of 53 patients and healthcare professionals were recruited from four National Health Service (NHS) burn services across England and Wales across England and Wales. Patient participants (n=32) included adults, adolescents, and parents of paediatric patients, with a variety of burn injuries in terms of severity and cause of burn injury. Healthcare professionals (n=21) were NHS staff members involved in burn care and included professionals with a range of clinical experience and roles (e.g. nurses, surgeons, occupational therapists, physiotherapist, administration).
Results: Ten themes relating to priorities (outcomes) during recovery from a burn injury were identified for patients and professionals. Of those, six were identified for patients and professionals (‘pain and discomfort’, ‘psychological wellbeing’, ‘healing’, ‘scarring’, ‘function’, ‘infection’), three were unique to professionals (‘patient knowledge, understanding & support’, ‘sense of control’, ’survival’) and one was unique to patients (‘uncertainty’). Results highlighted that importance of these priorities changes over time (e.g. ‘survival’ was only a concern in the short term). Likewise, priorities differed between patients and professionals (e.g. ‘pain’ was important to patients throughout their recovery, but not for professionals). Seven out of ten themes overlapped with outcomes commonly assessed in burn research.
Conclusion: Professionals’ and patients’ priorities (important outcomes) change over time after burn injury and differ between those groups. Burn care research should consider measuring outcomes at different time points during the recovery from a burn injury to accurately reflect complexity of burn recovery.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | e059528 |
| Pages (from-to) | e059528 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | BMJ Open |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 10 Feb 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This research is funded by The Scar Free Foundation, UK. The Scar Free Foundation is the only medical research charity focused on scarring with the mission to achieve scar free healing within a generation. The project was also supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) at the University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Bristol (BRC-1215-20011). AY has received an NIHR Doctoral Research Fellowship (DRF-2016-09-031 NIHR). This paper represents independent research funded by The Scar Free Foundation. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Scar Free Foundation, the UK NHS or the NIHR.
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