title: Enhancing the clinical utility of the burn specific health scale-brief: not just for major burns.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Like many other Western burn services, the proportion of major to minor burns managed at Royal Perth Hospital (RPH) is in the order of 1:10. The Burn Specific Health Scale-Brief (BSHS-B) is an established measure of recovery after major burn, however its performance and validity in a population with a high volume of minor burns is uncertain. Utilizing the tool across burns of all sizes would be useful in service wide clinical practice.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study was designed to examine the reliability and validity of the BSHS-B across a sample of mostly minor burn patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  BSHS-B scores of patients, obtained between January 2006 and February 2013 and stored on a secure hospital database were collated and analyzed Cronbach's alpha, factor analysis, logistic regression and longitudinal regression were used to examine reliability and validity of the BSHS-B.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Data from 927 burn patients (2031 surveys) with a mean % total burn surface area (TBSA) of 6.7 (SD 10.0) were available for analysis. The BSHS-B demonstrated excellent reliability with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.95. First and second order factor analyses reduced the 40 item scale to four domains: Work; Affect and Relations; Physical Function; Skin Involvement, as per the established construct. TBSA, length of stay and burn surgery all predicted burn specific health in the first three months of injury (p<0.001, p<0.001, p=0.03). BSHS-B whole scale and domain scores showed significant improvement over 24 months from burn (p<0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results from this study show that the structure and performance of the BSHS-B in a burn population consisting of 90% minor burns is consistent with that demonstrated in major burns.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The BSHS-B can be employed to track and predict recovery after burns of all sizes to assist the provision of targeted burn care.
authors.affiliation: Fiona Wood Foundation, Australia; Burn Injury Research Unit, University of Western Australia, Burn Service of Western Australia, Fiona Wood Foundation, Australia. Electronic address: Vidya.finlay@health.wa.gov.au.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Finlay
authors.affiliation: Western Australian Institute of Medical Research, Australia.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.affiliation: Burn Injury Research Unit, University of Western Australia, Burn Service of Western Australia, Fiona Wood Foundation, Australia.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wood
authors.affiliation: Curtin University of Technology, Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, Australia.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hendrie
authors.affiliation: Curtin University of Technology, Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, Australia.
authors.forename: G T
authors.initials: GT
authors.lastname: Allison
authors.affiliation: Fiona Wood Foundation, Australia; Burn Injury Research Unit, University of Western Australia, Burn Service of Western Australia, Fiona Wood Foundation, Australia.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Edgar
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002056:Burns / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D020127:Recovery of Function; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: BSHS-B; Factor analysis; Minor burns; Performance; Reliability; Validity