119 Satisfaction with Life and Community Integration Outcomes up to 20 Years after Burn Injury

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Among the many challenges burn survivors face, community integration is often difficult and might affect overall satisfaction with life long-term. The purpose of this study is to examine quality of life, based on life satisfaction and community integration, at long-term follow-ups in the burn population. Methods Data from the Burn Model System National Database (1997–2020) were analyzed. Patient-reported outcome measures were collected at discharge with a recall of preinjury status, and at 5, 10, 15, and 20 years after injury. The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) was used to measure participants’ satisfaction with life and the Community Integration Questionnaire (CIQ) measured level of community integration. A random intercept model was used to fit the data and generate a score trajectory with 95% confidence intervals to demonstrate the changes in scores over time and the impact of the demographic and clinical covariates on the model. SWLS trajectory is depicted in the Figure. Results The study population included 214 adult burn survivors with a mean age of 45.2 years. The population was mainly male (65.9%) and white (77.1%) with a mean burn size of 22.5% and average length of hospital stay of 34.7 days. This study found that SWLS scores decrease over time, but CIQ scores were relatively stable. The CIQ model with additional covariates were not statistically significant and did not improve the fit of the model. Conclusions Satisfaction with life was significantly worse over time. Community integration showed little or no change over the long term.