Time to School Re-Entry After Burn Injury Is Quite Short

Abstract

Returning to school is an important indicator of functional aptitude and emotional adjustment in school-aged patients after burn injury. Only two reports in the burn literature provide objective data on time to school re-entry. However, these analyses did not address the impact of patient and burn injury characteristics on time to return to school. The purpose of this study was to determine the time for school re-entry and to identify the factors associated with re-entry time in a cohort of burned children treated at our burn center. We performed a retrospective review of all school age children treated at our burn center from 1997 to 2003 who were entered into a federally funded longitudinal research database for patients with severe burn injury. Time to school re-entry after discharge was calculated for each patient, and multivariate regression was used to identify the factors associated with longer time to return to school. A total of 64 patients were included in this study. The average time to school re-entry was 10.5 days (range, 0 -40) and the median time was 7.5 days. Gender (male), age, and length of hospital stay were significantly associated (P < .05) with longer time to return to school. The average time to school return is quite short. Further studies are needed to increase understanding of the factors influencing longer time to re-entry and also to examine children's experiences upon re-entry. (J Burn Care Res 2007; 28:478-481)

Measuring the impact of a burns school reintegration programme on the time taken to return to school: A multi-disciplinary team intervention for children returning to school after a significant burn injury

“…This not only highlights the benefits of the SRP but also suggests that the improvements to the school reintegration package made as a result of feedback, may have had additional benefits. The average time to return to school in our audit population was large in comparison to previous literature, with previous literature finding a mean time of return to school between 7.4 and 10.5 days after discharge [1,13]. One explanation for this, may relate to the relatively small sample in our cohort compared to previous studies in the area.…”

“…One explanation for this, may relate to the relatively small sample in our cohort compared to previous studies in the area. Another possible explanation for these differences may be that in some previous studies [1,13] the sample of patients used, on average, had greater length of hospital stay (23.7 and 30.8 days). This could suggest these patients were kept in hospital for longer until they get to a point where they are in better health and therefore are more likely to return to school quicker.…”

“…Several studies have suggested that a shorter time to school re-entry often leads to a more successful social integration for the child [1,12,13].…”

“…More recently, research has found similar findings regarding time to return to school. Christiansen et al [1] found that the average time to return to school was an average of 10.5 days and median time of 7.5 days. This sample consisted of 64 patients with an average TBSA burn 14.3% (range 1-50%), and an average length of hospital stay of 23.7 days (range 1-123 days).…”

“…Depending on the location and extent of the injury, a paediatric burn injury can result in both emotional and physical challenges for the child. The time it takes them to return to school can be an important indicator of their emotional adjustment and functional aptitude [1]. Previous research has highlighted some of the difficulties children may face and factors that may influence a successful reintegration following a burn injury [2,3].…”