Publications by authors named "Gretchen J Carrougher"

Article Synopsis
  • - This study investigates how insurance status impacts long-term health outcomes, particularly physical and mental health, in burn patients using national data from 1997 to 2020.
  • - It found that most burn patients had private insurance, and those with Medicaid or Medicare reported significantly worse mental and physical health scores at various time points compared to those with private insurance.
  • - The conclusion highlights that having Medicaid or Medicare is linked to a lower quality of life in burn patients long after their injury, regardless of other factors like demographics or the severity of the burn.
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Introduction: Community-level disadvantage is associated with reduced quality of life after burn injury. We evaluated the association between community-level disadvantage and return to work after burn injury.

Methods: A multicenter burn injury database was queried from 1998-2021.

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Burn survivors are involved in burn research, but typically in the role of research subject. We believe that the outcomes and impact of burn research can be improved by engaging survivors as collaborators in the planning, implementation, and dissemination of burn research. The goal of this work was to produce the first burn research agenda generated and prioritized by burn survivors and other stakeholders from the burn community.

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Older adults are at a higher risk of complications after burn injuries since many physical and mental changes are compounded by increasing age. Few studies have targeted the long-term effects of burns on older adults. Therefore, this study will investigate the long-term physical and mental health outcomes in older adults.

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Burn injury can have a lasting impact on quality of life beyond the initial injury. The aim of this study was to examine the recovery process through analyzing the relationship between body image, physical function, and return to work. This study uses data from the Burn Model System (BMS) National Longitudinal Database and includes 1,001 participants injured between 2015 and 2023 who were measured using Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS-29) Physical Function, Employment Status, and the Body Image subscale.

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Some severe burn injuries may warrant amputation; however, the physical and functional adjustments resulting from postburn amputation can have long-term consequences. This study investigates longitudinal functional and psychosocial outcomes among pediatric burn amputees. Pediatric participants enrolled in the Burn Model System national longitudinal, multicenter database between 2015 and 2023 with postburn amputations were included.

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Daily rehabilitation after burn injury is vital for prevention of function-limiting contractures. However, adherence to prescribed therapy following acute burn hospitalization has historically been low and not well-studied. Studies involving virtual reality technology have demonstrated an association with improved functional outcomes in burn therapy.

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Burn Nursing.

Am J Nurs

February 2024

Burn nurses care for patients throughout the recovery continuum.

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Introduction: Heterotopic ossification (HO), or ectopic bone formation in soft tissue, is a not so rare and poorly understood debilitating sequela of burn injury. Individuals developing HO following burn injuries to their hands often experience reductions in mobility, significant contractures, and joint pain. This study identifies demographic characteristics of individuals who develop HO and compares their physical and psychosocial outcomes to the general burn population.

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Article Synopsis
  • Injuries, especially burns, are a major health issue for Alaska Native people, prompting the need for better care systems involving partnerships between medical centers in Alaska and Seattle.
  • Focus groups with Alaska Native individuals who suffered burn injuries revealed key issues like limited local medical help, mistrust of medical practices, and lack of emotional support during recovery.
  • The study highlights the need for improved, culturally sensitive treatment options and suggests using programs to enhance healthcare support for Alaska Native communities.
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Objective: To identify clinical factors (physical and psychological symptoms and post-traumatic growth) that predict social participation outcome at 24-month after burn injury.

Design: A prospective cohort study based on Burn Model System National Database.

Setting: Burn Model System centers.

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Introduction: Understanding trajectories of recovery in key domains can be used to guide patients, families, and caregivers. The purpose of this study was to describe common trajectories of physical health over time and to examine predictors of these trajectories.

Method: Adults with burn injuries completed self-reported assessments of their health-related quality of life (HRQOL) as measured by the SF-12® Physical Component Summary (PCS) score at distinct time points (preinjury via recall, index hospital discharge, and at 6-, 12-, and 24 months after injury).

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Specialty certification for burn nursing will be available in 2023. This review outlines the path taken from specialty recognition by the American Nurses Association to the Certified Burn Registered Nurse certification. Clinical expertise, knowledge, skill, mastery of professional issues, and competence are hallmark features of a nurse specialty certification.

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Introduction: Pain is a common and often debilitating sequela of burn injury. Burn pain develops following damage to peripheral sensory nerves and the release of inflammatory mediators from injury. Burn pain is complex and can include background and procedural pain that result from the injury itself, wound care, stretching, and surgery.

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Individuals who experience burns are at higher risk of developing posttraumatic stress disorder and chronic pain. A synergistic relationship exists between posttraumatic stress disorder and chronic pain. We sought to evaluate the role of individual posttraumatic stress disorder symptom clusters as predictors of pain interference.

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Introduction: Health Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) surveys such as PROMIS-29 may facilitate shared decision-making regarding surgery after burn injury. We aimed to examine whether scar revision and contracture release surgery after index hospitalization was associated with differences in HRQoL.

Methods: Patient and PROMIS-29 Profile v2.

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Disparities in socioeconomic status and minority status affect the risk of burn injury and the severity of that injury, thus affecting the subsequent cost of care. We aimed to characterize the demographic details surrounding receipt of financial assistance due to burn injury and its relationship with health-related quality of life scores. Participants ≥18 from Burn Model System National Longitudinal Database (BMS) with complete demographic data were included (n = 4330).

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study investigates the long-term effects of burn injuries on health, life satisfaction, and community integration for up to 20 years post-injury, highlighting a gap in existing research on this topic.
  • - Data from 421 adult burn survivors showed that factors like longer hospital stays, older age at injury, and greater time since injury correlated with worse physical and mental health over time, as well as reduced life satisfaction and community integration.
  • - Findings indicate that burn survivors experienced a decline in physical and mental health and life satisfaction over the years, suggesting the need for future research focused on long-term clinical follow-up and interventions.
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The Burn Specific Health Scale-Brief (BSHS-B) is a commonly used burn-specific health outcome measure that includes 40 items across nine subscales. The objective of this study was to use both classical and modern psychometric methods to evaluate psychometric properties of the BSHS-B. Data were collected postburn injury by a multisite federally funded project tracking long-term outcomes.

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The costs required to provide acute care for patients with serious burn injuries are significant. In the United States, these costs are often shared by patients. However, the impacts of preinjury finances on health-related quality of life (HRQL) have been poorly characterized.

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Burn survivors experience barriers to returning to work. For those who do return to work, little is known regarding whether they achieve preinjury productivity (i.e.

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People living with burn injury often report temperature sensitivity. However, its epidemiology and associations with health-related quality of life (HRQOL) are unknown. We aimed to characterize temperature sensitivity and determine its impact on HRQOL to inform patient education after recovery from burn injury.

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Introduction: Representativeness of research populations impacts the ability to extrapolate findings. The Burn Model System (BMS) National Database is one of the largest prospective, longitudinal, multi-center research repositories collecting patient-reported outcomes after burn injury.

Objective: To assess if the BMS Database is representative of the population that is eligible to participate.

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