Burns : journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries
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Multicenter Study
Considerations for the provision of psychosocial services for families following paediatric burn injury--a quantitative study.
The purpose of the study was to quantify and report levels of psychosocial distress in a sample of parents of burned children to inform evidence-based recommendations for psychosocial support programmes. This paper reports on the cross-sectional quantitative strand of a mixed-methodology study. Standardised instruments measuring anxiety, depression, family functioning, personality, child behaviour and social experience were administered to 72 parents at different points after burn. ⋯ Potential vulnerability markers for parental distress included lower emotional stability, younger age of mother and poorer family functioning. The wide range and high proportion of parents reporting clinically significant distress support the recommendation that screening should be a routine part of care. The relative importance of social factors over objective measurements of injury, such as TBSA, in explaining the observed levels of distress, supports the recommendation that routine assessment and a family-centred approach to the delivery of psychosocial support should be adopted and be offered to all parents, irrespective of the size of their child's burn.