A survey of pediatric discharge educational programs in North American burn units

In this study we contacted all of the 149 major North American burn facilities that treat children. The survey determined topics covered in discharge teaching, personnel administering the programs, methods used, and obstacles encountered. The subjects addressed and the personnel involved have changed little from a decade ago. Unfortunately, one fourth of the centers still do not deal with emotional aspects of burns in their discharge programs. For program delivery, videotape is becoming an increasingly accepted teaching method. Eighty-five percent of burn facilities experienced barriers to patient education at discharge, with more than half reporting three or more difficulties. The most common difficulty was time constraints (50%), followed by language and sociocultural barriers (41%), lack of receptivity by clientele (39%), lack of educational materials and planning (26%), and inadequate funding (25%). Some of these problems might be alleviated by the establishment of a clearinghouse for burn educational materials.