Validation of the German version of the Burn Specific Health Scale-Brief (BSHS-B)

The Burn Specific Health Scale-Brief (BSHS-B) is recognized as a valid self-rating scale to evaluate quality of life after burn.

To validate the translated German version of the BSHS-B.

One hundred and forty one burn survivors (65.2% men) with a mean age of 49.62 years (SD=15.16) and a mean duration after burn of 45.01 months (SD=26.18) answered the BSHS-B. Factor structure was tested by using confirmatory factor analysis, reliability (internal consistency) of the scales was determined by means of Cronbach's α. Construct validity was explored through correlations between the BSHS-B and the Short-Form 8 Health Survey (SF-8). In addition, the know-groups technique was used to determine to which degree the BSHS-B discriminates between patients with low and high burn severity based on the abbreviated burn severity index (ABSI). The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to examine criterion validity.

The nine BSHS-B subscales showed good internal consistency. A second-order confirmatory factor analysis revealed the following main components: (1) Affect and Relationship, (2) Function and (3) Skin Involvement. The second-order factors were positively correlated with the SF-8 and negatively correlated with symptoms of anxiety and depression. Patients with low ABSI scored higher on all three BSHS-B domains than those with high ABSI.

The results indicate good psychometric properties of the German BSHS-B. Further studies are needed to investigate the utility of the questionnaire in clinical routine practice, evaluation of burn management programs, and burn-specific research.