TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2007//
TI  - Long-term risk factors for impaired burn-specific health and unemployment in patients with thermal injury
JO  - Burns: journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries
A1  - Moi, Asgjerd Litlere
A1  - Wentzel-Larsen, Tore
A1  - Salemark, L.
A1  - Hanestad, Berit Rokne
SP  - 37
EP  - 45
VL  - 33
IS  - 1
N2  - The success of acute burn therapy has led to an increased demand for high-quality rehabilitation. When optimizing burn care programs, knowledge of long-term risk factors associated with impaired health and unemployment of the patient may be significant. The health and work status of 95 patients (82.1% males; mean age 43.7 (S.D.: 14.5) years; mean total body surface burn 18.5 (S.D.: 14.2) % were assessed 47.0 (S.D.: 23.8) months after injury, using the Norwegian version of the abbreviated burn-specific health scale (BSHS-N) and a questionnaire asking for socio-demographic and medical characteristics. A regression model demonstrated that the BSHS-N total score was significantly reduced by chronic pain (P<0.001), psychological illness (P<0.001), and living alone (P=0.030), as well as full-thickness facial (P=0.011) and foot (P=0.013) burns. Unemployment was significantly associated with housing and economic problems (P=0.001), chronic pain (P=0.001), the extent of full-thickness injury (P=0.005), the presence of deformities (P=0.037), the number of operations (P=0.001) and the length of hospital stay (P=0.016). Thus, socio-demographic factors, non-burn-related morbidity and the injury itself significantly impaired long-term physical and psychosocial health and work status.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0305-4179
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.burns.2006.06.002
ID  - ref1
ER  -