A burn specific health scale.

The outcome of burn care is conventionally measured in terms of mortality. To extend our understanding beyond this level, and specifically to develop insight into the morbidity and other sequelae or burn injury, we have constructed a Burn-Specific Health Scale (BSHS). The scale is composed of 114 items, based on the selection of items from a much larger pool by a group of professional and patient judges. The scale has been utilized to quantify dysfunction and distress across six major domains of health. Preliminary internal consistency and reliability testing of the scale has proved satisfactory. We present here the results of testing in 40 initial patients, with the following conclusions: 1) The psychosocial performance of patients with major burns lags behind their performance in other areas, and we need to explore alternate clinical strategies for their support; 2) The BSHS can be used to determine both individual and group performance and needs for intervention; 3) The postburn recovery is dynamic and undergoes marked changes for a prolonged period of time, at least 1 year post-hospitalization: this must be considered when such patients are being evaluated for various purposes, e.g., disability.