Burns : journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries
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A large-scale online survey was designed to both inform and direct the development of an online community healthcare hub for people living with scarring. Focussed areas of questioning were generated to gather information on psychological symptoms, scar support and knowledge of wounds and healing. Simple statistical data was produced on the severity, aetiology and location of scarring. ⋯ The most popular forms of support were chosen as face-to-face interaction or online support. Key areas of support were found to be psychology particularly for help with acceptance or coping methods, wound care advice and meeting with other patients with scars. For these patients, key themes in the psychological impact of scarring include appearance-related concerns, social anxiety, acceptance and coping, experience of symptoms, skin viability and survivorship.
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The Life Impact Burn Recovery Evaluation (LIBRE) Profile© was developed using Item Response Theory methods to assess social participation after a burn injury. The LIBRE Profile measures six areas of social participation: Relationships with Family & Friends, Social Interactions, Social Activities, Work & Employment, Romantic Relationships, and Sexual Relationships. It can be administered through a computerized adaptive test or through fixed short forms. The goal of this study was to further examine the psychometric properties of the LIBRE Profile, including reliability and validity. ⋯ This study provided evidence for the reliability and validity of the LIBRE Profile, one of the first tools that measures exclusively the social participation after a burn injury.
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To describe frostbite (freezing cold injured tissue) in children and intrinsic (psychological and behavioral) and extrinsic (meteorological and safety hazard) factors related to the injury. ⋯ Frostbite injuries in children begins at temperatures <-6°C; with risk of tissue loss increasing at temperatures below -23°C. Lack of supervision and intoxication are major risk factors for frostbite in children. Two-thirds of younger children were unsupervised, whereas intoxication was frequently related to frostbite in adolescents. Both of these factors can be addressed through an education-based prevention program.
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The process of standardising burn care and creating protocols within burn centres has, at its core, evidence-based practice principles combined with the clinical experiences of burn care specialists. Although protocols and pathways have been created for certain topics of burn care, they tend to be tailored to the local individual needs of each burn centre, which is a limiting factor for consideration of larger/nationwide approaches. ⋯ We describe the steps put in place in Canada to design and adopt a nationwide protocol from a single burn centre on the topic of wound healing and dermal substitutes as the initial exemplary process. This report summarizes the Canadian experience for this type of initiative, which can be used as framework for developing additional guidelines/protocols in other relevant burn care related topics in Canada or other countries.
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The BuRN-Tool (Burns Risk assessment for Neglect or abuse Tool) is a clinical prediction tool (CPT) aiding the identification of child maltreatment in children with burn injuries. The tool has been derived from systematic reviews and epidemiological studies, validated and is under-going an implementation evaluation. Clinician opinion on the use of this CPT is a key part of its evaluation. ⋯ This study confirms that the BuRN-Tool is acceptable in an ED setting. The focus groups demonstrated a homogenous and positive attitude regarding the layout, benefits and use of the BuRN-Tool. The subjective interpretation of some variables accounts for the non-uniformity in the scores generated. Clarification of questions will be made.