Recovery of lost face of burn patients, perceived changes, and coping strategies in the rehabilitation stage

Although burn is a highly traumatic experience, little has been reported on the perception of the individual burn patient in the Chinese cultural context. For developing more culturally sensitive rehabilitation strategies for burn survivors, the present study was conducted to elucidate their perceived changes and to construct a theoretical model of their subjective experience and coping strategies.

Data were collected from a burn center in China in 2013. Fifteen patients recruited via a theoretical sampling method participated in semi-structured, face-to-face interviews. The grounded theory approach was used to analyze the data.

Six response categories were generated from the data, and the correlations between the categories were identified to form a paradigm model. The basic elements of the paradigm model were "unexpected body suffering," "losing face," "constructing a new identity," "perceived social rejection," "self-exploratory coping," and "striving to regain their own life."

The findings of the present study suggested that burn survivors encountered such challenges as "unexpected suffering," "culture-related stigma," "perceived social rejection," and "constructing a new identity." Limited and inappropriate coping strategies may hinder the effective rehabilitation of burn survivors. In addition, burns must be understood in the social-cultural context to develop effective coping strategies for reintegration into society.