Burns : journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries
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Research supports that people of color in the U. S. have poorer outcomes after burn injury compared to White individuals. The current study sought to explore burn health disparities by testing the relationship between racial and ethnic minority status, a proxy for systemic discrimination due to race and ethnicity, with two key constructs linked to functional outcomes, satisfaction with appearance and social community integration. ⋯ Linear regressions revealed that racial and ethnic minority status significantly related to lower satisfaction with appearance and social community integration compared to White individuals at all time points. In addition, satisfaction with appearance continued to significantly relate to greater social community integration even while accounting for race and ethnicity, age, sex, burn size, and physical disability at 6-, 12-, and 24-month time points. Overall, the study supports that racial and ethnic minority burn survivors report greater dissatisfaction with their appearance and lower social community reintegration after burn injury.
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The majority of pediatric burns in Mongolia occur within the home, particularly in the spaces dedicated to cooking. This makes home environment modification a priority for injury prevention. Many of these injuries are caused by electric appliances used in traditional tent-like dwellings (called a ger). ⋯ The WTP appeared to be higher for the households with a higher income, more severe child burn experiences, and a greater number of children in the household. In the group interviews conducted after 4-6 weeks of routine use, the participants indicated that the use of the rack had resulted in a less stressful cooking environment, and the kitchen rack was described as a positive contribution to the reduction of risk to their young children. Whilst there were some suggestions for minor modifications, the rack was well accepted as a means of child burn prevention by the parents of infants and toddlers in Mongolia.
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Camp "Sababa" operates in Israel through the Burn Advocate Network of New Jersey, to help children with burn injuries cope with consequences of injury. The study assessed adolescents' perceptions of their participation in the camp, and its effect on their self-esteem and quality of life. ⋯ The positive results suggest that burn camps should be part of the rehabilitation process of adolescents with burn injury, with emphasis on challenging, age-appropriate activities, and peer group participation.
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Utility of palm and hand surface area in approximating burn extent in Burundian adults and children.
The use of palm and hand surface areas to approximate the extent of burns is as widespread as it is facile. However, direct comparison of measured palm and hand surface areas to total body surface areas (TBSA) have demonstrated variable accuracy in different patient populations. We measured the palm and hand surface areas of 353 Burundian adults and children, including 23 underweight children and compared those values with 0.5% and 1%, respectively, of the calculated TBSA via Mosteller, Dubois, and Haycock formulae. ⋯ For 253 Burundian children, the mean palm and hand surface are represented 0.44% and 0.86% TBSA, respectively. Subgroup analysis of underweight children (BMI < 18.5 or Z-score ≤-2 weight for height) revealed values of 0.45% and 0.88% for palm and hand areas. Our data indicate that using values of 0.5% TBSA for the palm and/or 1% TBSA for the hand overestimates the actual burn extent and would be improved with a correction factor for Burundian patients.
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No epidemiological information is available of the number of burns treated in the past 30 years in Romania. The aim of the present study is to investigate the extent of burn injuries in Romania, as well as to detect and analyze the essential epidemiological characteristics. ⋯ This is the first nationwide epidemiological study concerning hospitalized burns in Romania. It provides insight in demographical characteristics but also uncovers a worrying trend of increasing mortality rates, which requires further investigation. This study cannot make any reference to the severity of burns (surface and depth) or towards major burns events which unfolded during the studied period, due to lack of data. Consequently, it should raise awareness towards policymakers and caregivers that for a durable burns management strategy in Romania, it would be extremely useful to implement a national burn registry.