(P25-046-25) Burn Survivors' Lived Experiences and the Need for Nutrition Education: A Qualitative Study

Objectives: To explore the nutritional care experience of adult burn survivors during the rehabilitation phase.

Methods: An in-depth semi-structured interview to gather data was used to explore themes surrounding survivors’ experiences of food and nutrition during the rehabilitation phase. Further, exploring the study findings by using document analysis as the supplementary data collection method was used to increase the rigor of the qualitative data collection and findings.

Results: Thirteen burn survivors were included in this study who met the following eligibility criteria: adults, had a burn injury within the last five years with at least 20% burn of their total body surface area, and received their initial burn care in the United States. Overall, burn survivors experienced confusion about the prescribed diet, apathy towards eating during hospitalization, and severity of hunger and excess eating post hospitalization. Moreover, their relationship with food and nutrition changed following a burn injury as they ate to support their physical and mental wellness and they developed new dietary habits. They also thought that receiving individualized nutrition education by a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) and seeing an RDN for nutrition education along the continuum of care would strengthen their nutrition-related care. Of the 368 documents identified that addressed burn survivor educational needs, only five documents addressed nutrition-related care, reflecting a gap in this recovery area.

Conclusions: This study achieved its aim by exploring the experience of thirteen adult burn survivors from diverse age groups and from 11 different states in the United States. This study also used document analysis and informal observation to triangulate data collection, analysis, and findings. The main findings of this study were that participants shared their challenges with prescribed diets and eating during recovery. They also elucidated that their relationship with nutrition and food has been affected by several factors related to their burn injury. Participants indicated their need to receive comprehensive and individualized nutrition education by an RDN along their continuum of care. 

Funding Sources: Endowed University Professor in Health Sciences for the funding support.