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Published on: February 23, 2024
Burn Survivors' Experiences of the Ongoing Challenges after Discharge in South Korea: A Qualitative Study
Kyung Ja Kim1, Sunjoo Boo, Hyunjin Oh
1Kyung Ja Kim, PhD, RN, is Unit Manager, Hangang Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University, Seoul, Korea. Sunjoo Boo, PhD, RN, is Associate Professor, Ajou University, Suwon, Korea. Hyunjin Oh, PhD, RN, is Associate Professor, Gachon University, Incheon, Korea. Acknowledgments: The authors thank the patients who participated in the study. This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea grant funded by the Korean government (Ministry of Science and ICT, 2017R1C1B1005527). The authors have disclosed no other financial relationships related to this article. Submitted March 20, 2020; accepted in revised form May 13, 2020; published online ahead of print, March 31, 2021.
Objective:
To help burn survivors during the recovery time after discharge, healthcare professionals need to understand their experiences and care requirements. However, little is known about the experience of burn survivors after discharge in South Korea. This study aims to explore their experiences in a community setting.
Methods:
Using a qualitative descriptive format, data were collected by semistructured interview from 10 patients who had sustained major burns. Each interview was based on a protocol of 60 to 90 minutes' duration and used a qualitative content analysis.
Results:
Three themes were identified in the analysis: (1) ongoing distressing symptoms and the unpredictability of hypertrophic scars, (2) difficulties in reintegration into society, and (3) burden of health expenditure.
Conclusions:
Several participants expressed consistent difficulties with distressing symptoms such as wound pain, pruritus, sleep disturbances, and unpredictable scar and symptom changes. Survivors further described the financial burden associated with high expenditures from nonreimbursable rehabilitation expenses, and the high cost incurred with consistent skin care. By providing support based on their needs, appropriate interventions would be more readily available for burn survivors.
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