Quantitative and thematic analysis of burns surgeons’ attitudes, beliefs and surgical decision-making in self-harm burn injuries: The use of a questionnaire and hypothetical cases

Abstract

BackgroundSelf-harm injuries represent a significant minority of attendances within burns services. However, there is minimal research exploring burns surgeons’ attitudes and beliefs about self-harm and how treatment decisions are made. MethodBurns surgeons (n=37) completed a questionnaire which measured attitudes and beliefs about self-harm. Surgical decision-making was also explored by prompting surgeons to make treatment decisions for hypothetical case scenarios, and describe their rationale behind their decisions. ResultsThe majority of surgeons reported positive attitudes about self-harm. However, around one in ten judged patients who self-harm more negatively, around a fifth offer surgery less frequently and almost a quarter believed that surgery should only be offered a limited number of times in repeated self-harm. Unhelpful or inaccurate beliefs (e.g. self-harm is ‘attention seeking,’ surgery would reinforce the self-harm, and that patients who self-harm tamper with skin grafts) were evident in some surgeons. Thematic analysis of qualitative data describing surgical decisions identified five themes: Equal Access to Care; Multidisciplinary Working; Old or Unhelpful Stories; Concerns about Tampering; and Repeated vs. First Time Self-Harm Episodes. More experienced surgeons were less judgmental, more likely to offer surgical interventions, and less likely to hold unhelpful or inaccurate beliefs compared to junior surgeons. ConclusionsSome surgeons are not acting in line with UK guidance on the management of self-harm injuries. Education on the topic of self-harm is essential in burns services and this may be particularly important early on during surgical careers. Prospective research regarding surgical treatments and outcomes following self-harm is required.