Quality of life and psychosocial adjustment to burn injury: social functioning, body image, and health policy perspectives.

This paper reviews four major topics related to the long-term psychosocial rehabilitation for burn survivors; (1) Body image adjustment process; (2) Social functioning challenges; (3) Interventions designed to address psychosocial rehabilitation challenges; and (4) Current policy developments in the USA and the UK that focus on raising the rehabilitation standards for psychosocial care for burn survivors. While acknowledging the close relationship between body image distress and social functioning, these two areas are reviewed separately with the goal of addressing two specific questions. First, what does current empirical research and clinical experience teach us about each of these areas, and second, what are the most important gaps in current knowledge about body image and social functioning, respectively? The final section of the paper specifically addresses the question of what can be done, from a practical and a health policy perspective, to ensure that existing body image and social difficulties are appropriately addressed.

Enhancing quality of life in medical populations: a vision for body image assessment and rehabilitation as standards of care.

This article presents a vision and framework for establishing body image assessment and rehabilitation as a standard of care for patients with medical disorders. Making this vision a reality depends upon: (1) a thorough understanding of the body image construct; (2) application of many new forms of body image assessment; (3) refined understanding of body image disorder and dysfunction in the context of medical conditions; and (4) a clear plan to implement and evaluate prevention, rehabilitation, and treatment programs. Applying the many important developments that have occurred in body image theory, assessment, and intervention over the past decade holds promise for enhancing the quality of life of many individuals with medical conditions.

The influence of plastic surgery "reality TV" on cosmetic surgery patient expectations and decision making.

Background: The aim of this study was to survey first-time patients seeking cosmetic surgery and examine what role "reality TV" played in their perception of the risks and benefits of surgery and their overall decision-making process.

Methods: Information on demographics, television viewing patterns, and patients' self-assessed plastic surgery knowledge was collected from 42 patients. They were asked how similar they believed the shows were to real life and what degree of influence the shows had on their decision to pursue cosmetic surgery.

Quality of life and facial trauma: psychological and body image effects.

This study evaluated the social and psychologic impact of facial trauma on previously healthy individuals. Inclusion criteria for the study included 18- to 45-year-old individuals who had a facial laceration of 3 cm or greater and/or a fractured facial bone requiring operative intervention within 6 months to 2 years prior to participation in the study. Retrospective analysis of patients at Yale New Haven Hospital Emergency Department was done between May 1997 and December 1998.

Measuring outcomes in plastic surgery: body image and quality of life in abdominoplasty patients.

Abdominoplasty is an increasingly common aesthetic surgery procedure that has yet to be evaluated using the most recently developed and psychometrically sophisticated measures of body image and quality-of-life outcomes. This study prospectively evaluated 30 consecutive female abdominoplasty patients, preoperatively and postoperatively, using measures of body image, psychological investment in appearance, and general psychosocial functioning. One-way repeated-measures (pretest versus posttest) analyses of variance revealed significant positive postsurgical changes on the Appearance Evaluation subscale of the Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire.