Use of healthcare a long time after severe burn injury: relation to perceived health and personality characteristics

Purpose. The aim of the study was to evaluate which factors are associated with the use of healthcare a long time after severe burn injury.Method. After a review process based on clinical reasoning, 69 former burn patients out of a consecutive group treated at the Uppsala Burn Unit from 1980 – 1995 were visited in their homes and their use of care and support was assessed in a semi-structured interview. Post-burn health was assessed with the Burn-Specific Health Scale-Brief (BSHS-B) and personality was assessed with the Swedish universities Scales of Personality (SSP).Results.  The participants were injured on average eight years previously. Thirty-four had current contact with healthcare due to their burn injury and had significantly lower scores on three BSHS-B-domains: Simple Abilities, Work and Hand function, and significantly higher scores for the SSP-domain Neuroticism and the SSP-scales Stress Susceptibility, Lack of Assertiveness, and lower scores for Social Desirability. There was no relation to age, gender, time since injury, length of stay, or to the surface area burned.Conclusions. A routine screening of personality traits as a supplement to long-term follow-ups may help in identifying the patient's need for care.