Men, fire, and burns: Stories of fighting, healing, and emotions

Abstract

Burn recovery is a difficult process full of physical and psychological challenges. With increasing survival rates, there has been renewed interest in the psychological aspects of burn recovery. As men represent over 70% of all burn patients, it is particularly important to study how men experience and interpret this process. We interviewed a purposeful sample of ten adult male burn survivors from different age and cultural groups in the first 16 weeks of their recovery and asked them to discuss the problems they faced. Narrative analysis was used to interpret the interviews. In their narratives, the men tended to emphasize gains in their physical recovery; that is, they often used metaphors of “fighting” to demonstrate how committed they were to their healing. Further, they put less emphasis on the emotional aspects of their recovery. In our discussion, we compare these complex storylines to coping strategies identified in the literature and discuss why men may choose these strategies. Based on our findings we argue that it is important for health care providers to be aware of societal pressures which may influence burn survivors to minimize affective elements of burn recovery. Additionally, we encourage exploring and capitalizing on men's “fighting” stories during rehabilitation in order to foster an active role which men can take in their recovery.