Page 141 - Psychology of Wounds and Wound Care in Clinical Practice ( PDFDrive )

116 Chapter 5. Different Wound Type

as mortality has decreased, the importance placed upon the
psychological well-being of burn survivors has increased sub-
;
stantially (Klinge et al. 2009 Smith et al. 2006 ).
During the first year following a burn trauma, a patient
is highly vulnerable being susceptible to experiences of
anxiety, depression, psychosis and delirium (Edwards et al.
2007 ). Indeed, studies have suggested that psychological
recovery parallels physical recovery (Smith et al. 2006 ).
Studies have highlighted the predominance of anxiety and
depression to be reported as long-term symptoms (Edwards
et al. 2007 ), with the prevalence rate of overall psychological
consequences being between 10 and 65 % (Edwards et al.
2007 ; De Young et al. 2012 ; van Loey et al. 2012 ). Personality
type, coping styles and situational factors have been found
to be associated with post-burn psychological adjustment
(Herndon 2007 ; van Loey et al. 2012 ). Park et al. ( 2008 )
discovered that combined with the previous risk factors,
employment, marital status, financial position, and social
support can predict psychological adjustment and psy-
chosocial outcomes of burn patients. Similarly, van Loey
et al. ( 2012 ) reported that quality of life in the long-term
was influenced by physical recovery, number of surgical
interventions and psychological disorder (particularly post-
traumatic stress disorder). Hence, it is essential for clini-
cians to identify potential risk factors than may impede the
psychological adjustment of wound patients. Klinge et al.
( 2009 ), in their review of the burn wounds literature, high-
lighted six factors that may place a role in the adjustment of
post-burn patients;

1. Psychological status pre-burn;
2. Vocational status pre-burn;
3. Coping style and personality type;
4. Social support and network;
5. Burn characteristics;
6. Gender.
An interesting point to note is that the authors reported
that burn patients had a higher incidence of pre-existing