Experience of Scar Management for Patients with Burn Injuries: IPA
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The Experience of Scar Management for Patients with Burn Injuries: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis
IRAS ID
137223
Contact name
Catherine Martin
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust
Research summary
How do patients with burn injuries experience scar management?
Background: Between 30 and 70% of people who suffer severe burns develop ‘abnormal’ scars. These scars appear as red, raised and hard skin, and may impact on patients’ physical mobility, such as sitting and climbing stairs, and their quality of life, including confidence and relationships.
Burns services offer scar management, such as pressure garments and silicone gels, to improve the healing and appearance of scars. Pressure garments (clothing garments made of lycra) apply constant pressure to flatten the scar. Silicone gel helps to soften and flatten the scar. Up to 6 out of 10 patients, however, do not use pressure garments and gels as often as prescribed. Due to a lack of research in this area, there remains a need to understand patients’ experiences, to understand why there are difficulties with adherence.
Aims: This study aims to explore how patients experience and cope with their scar management.
Why is this important? The information collected could help patients, clinicians and researchers to understand the experience of scar management, and enable health care services to develop better support for patients. The research may help us understand more about how patients engage with treatments more broadly.
Method: A sample of 3-6 adults who have pressure garments and gels will be recruited from burns service(s). Patients will be sent an invitation for an interview, to explore their experience of scar management. Interviews will be written up, made anonymous, and themes from the interviews will be identified.
Dissemination: Findings will be written up for a thesis to be submitted to the University of Leicester. Findings will also be provided to staff at burns service(s) and to all participants in the study. It is also intended that findings will be presented at conferences and published in academic journals.REC name
East Midlands - Leicester South Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
13/EM/0461
Date of REC Opinion
15 Jan 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion