Research Spotlight

Burn recovery is about more than physical healing. Research led by Dr Lisa Martin explored posttraumatic growth after severe burn injury, meaning the positive psychological changes that can occur as people adapt following trauma.

Dr Martin worked with Michelle Byrnes, Sarah McGarry, Dr Suzanne Rea and Professor Fiona Wood after identifying an important gap in the research. While posttraumatic growth had been studied following other types of trauma, there were few studies involving burn survivors, and the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory had not been evaluated specifically for this population.

How did they do the research?

Seventeen adults who had experienced a moderate or severe burn at least two years earlier took part.

Each person completed the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory, a five-minute questionnaire looking at areas including relationships, new possibilities, personal strength, spiritual change and appreciation of life.

Participants also took part in one-to-one interviews where they could describe their experiences in their own words. This placed burn survivors’ experiences alongside the questionnaire, helping the team assess whether it reflected what people were experiencing after burn injury.

What did they find?

The interviews showed that burn survivors experienced many of the positive psychological changes measured by the questionnaire, including changes in relationships, personal strength and appreciation of life.

They also revealed experiences more closely connected with living after a burn. Heat intolerance and physical limitations influenced some of the changes people made, while visible scarring and feelings of being a burden could create challenges within relationships.

When the researchers compared what people shared in the interviews with their questionnaire responses, they found the two were closely aligned. This gave the team confidence that the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory reflected the experiences of the burn survivors who took part and could be used as a short screening questionnaire in this Western Australian population.

What is the impact of this research?

The study showed that posttraumatic growth after severe burn injury shares many similarities with growth after other types of trauma, while also being shaped by experiences specific to burns.

It also found that the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory could help identify the level of posttraumatic growth in burn survivors in Western Australia and indicate when more intensive support may be needed. The questionnaire could also assess whether strategies designed to support positive psychological change are making a difference.

Research reference

Martin, L., Byrnes, M., McGarry, S., Rea, S., & Wood, F. (2016). Evaluation of the posttraumatic growth inventory after severe burn injury in Western Australia: clinical implications for use. Disability and Rehabilitation, 38(24), 2398–2405.