Does participation mediate the prospective relationships of impairment, injury severity, and pain to quality of life following burn injury?

Abstract

We examined the prospective impact of injury severity, functional impairment, and pain on participation in the community and subsequently on life satisfaction and self-rated health of 260 burn survivors 5 years post-discharge. Predictor variables include injury severity and total body surface area burned (assessed during acute care), functional independence (assessed at 12 months post-discharge), pain (assessed at the 24th month), and participation (assessed at the 48th month). Participation predicted life satisfaction and self-rated health. Functional independence and injury severity had significant indirect influences on adjustment via their influence on participation. Pain predicted both outcome variables. Clinical and research implications are discussed.