Storying the experiences of surviving childhood burns: A narrative inquiry

Background

Burns remain a significant global public health which disproportionately affects children. With the increasing survival rates, attention has now shifted to understanding their recovery process. Despite this, the voices of paediatric burn survivors remain minimally explored. The current study aimed to capture and understand the experiences of paediatric burn survivors through their stories or narratives.

Methods

Narrative inquiry methodology was employed. Purposive sampling method was employed to recruit burn survivors aged 8–16 years with a post-burn discharge status of ≥1 month. Semi structured interviews were undertaken to capture the stories of the participants. The three-dimensional approach of temporality, sociality, and spatiality guided the analytical processes to capture narrative threads following which an overarching metanarrative was derived.

Results

Thirteen paediatric burn survivors participated. The meta-narrative was captured as “emergence from the trauma” which conceptualises three narrative threads: 1) navigating the initial trauma (emotional responses, bodily suffering, and reliving the injury occurrence); 2) navigating the ongoing trauma (unexpected hospitalisation and navigating through bodily changes); and 3) working through the aftermath of the trauma (betwixt and between liminal spaces and striving for redefined normalcy).

Conclusion

There is a great need for sustained psychosocial support following admission to the burn unit to enable children to make sense of their injuries, recovery process, and come to terms with the aftermath.

Practice implications

Psychosocial support is greatly need for paediatric burn survivors following admission to the burn unit which must continue to the post-discharge period. Evidence-based approaches regarding burn pain management are also needed.