Burn care and rehabilitation in Australia: Health professionals’ perspectives

Rachel Kornhaber, Greg Rickard, Loyola McLean, Rick Wiechula, Violeta Lopez, Michelle Cleary

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

13 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Objective: To understand health professionals’ perspectives of burn care and rehabilitation.
Design: Qualitative and semi-structured interviews.
Setting: Australian burn and rehabilitation units.Participants: Twenty-two clinicians working in burns units across disciplines and healthcare settings.
Results: The data portrayed the health professionals’ perspectives of burn care and rehabilitation in Australia. Three themes were identified: (1) interprofessional collaboration; (2) integrated community care, and (3) empowering patients to self-care.Conclusion: Burn care and rehabilitation remains a complex and a challenging area of care with limited access to burn services especially in rural and remote areas. Interprofessional training and education of health professionals involved with the complex care of burn injury remains a key element to support and sustain the long-term rehabilitation requirements for patients and their families. Empowering patients to develop independence early in their rehabilitation is fundamental to their ongoing recovery. A burns model of care that embraces a multidisciplinary collaboration and integrated care across the continuum has the potential to positively impact recovery and improve health outcomes. Implications for rehabilitation Burn care and rehabilitation remains a complex and challenging area of care. Managing the rehabilitation phase after burn injury can be as complex as managing the acute phase. Interprofessional collaboration, integrated community care, and empowering patients to self-care are key elements for sustaining the rehabilitation of adults with burn injuries.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)714-719
Number of pages6
JournalDisability and Rehabilitation
Volume41
Issue number6
Early online date05 Dec 2017
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2019

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Burn care and rehabilitation in Australia: Health professionals’ perspectives'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this