Predictors for psychological distress of young burn survivors across three years: A cohort study of a burn disaster in Taiwan.
Lu-Yen Anny Chen, Chia-Yi Wu, Ming-Been Lee and 4 others
PMID 34841644WHAT IT FOUND
Distress in young burn survivors generally eased across 3 years, but PTSD-like symptoms and depression stayed the main warning signs.
Nurses should watch sleep medication use, family adaptation and social problems throughout recovery.
Key findings
01SPAN-4 PTSD-like symptom scores were the strongest predictor of BSRS-5 psychological distress across all four interview waves.
02PHQ-2 depression scores, hypnotics use, family functioning impairment, adaptation to post-event life and IES-6 trauma symptoms significantly predicted distress across the 3-year period.
03Suicide ideation, IES-6, SPAN-4, service satisfaction, hypnotics use and positive family relation scores rebounded from T2 to T3 after earlier improvement.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only 180 of 484 stabilized survivors were analysed, and the authors say this was a secondary analysis of completers, so people who dropped out may differ. All participants came from one 2015 Taiwan burn disaster, so results may not apply to other burn injuries or countries. The study measured associations, not causation, so it cannot show that any factor caused distress. SPAN-4 and IES-6 are symptom screening scales, not PTSD diagnoses. Some measures improved over time but then rebounded from T2 to T3, including suicide ideation, IES-6, SPAN-4, service satisfaction, hypnotics use and positive family relation. The paper did not report why survivors did not complete all interviews.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that distress has resolved by 3 years or that these factors caused distress. The study was observational, only included survivors who completed all four interviews, and some distress measures rebounded from T2 to T3.