Predictors for psychological distress of young burn survivors across three years: A cohort study of a burn disaster in Taiwan

Lu-Yen Anny Chen; Chia-Yi Wu; Ming-Been Lee; Chi-Hung Lin; Shu-Chen Kao; Chung-Chieh Tu; Ran-Chou Chen

doi:10.1111/jnu.12703

Predictors for psychological distress of young burn survivors across three years: A cohort study of a burn disaster in Taiwan

J Nurs Scholarsh. 2022 Jan;54(1):56-63. doi: 10.1111/jnu.12703. Epub 2021 Nov 28.

Authors

Lu-Yen Anny Chen^{1

2}, Chia-Yi Wu^{3

4

5}, Ming-Been Lee^{5

6

7}, Chi-Hung Lin^{8

9}, Shu-Chen Kao¹⁰, Chung-Chieh Tu¹⁰, Ran-Chou Chen¹⁰

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Clinical Nursing, College of Nursing, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan.
² Second Degree Bachelor of Science in Nurisng, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
³ School of Nursing, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁴ Department of Nursing, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁵ Taiwanese Society of Suicidology & Taiwan Suicide Prevention Center, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁶ Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁷ Department of Psychiatry, Shin-Kong Wu-Ho-Su Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁸ Department of Biological Science and Technology, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁹ Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan.
¹⁰ Department of Health, New Taipei City Government, Banqiao, Taiwan.

Abstract

Purpose: The study aims to investigate long-term psychological distress and its risk factors in the burn survivors.

Design: A longitudinal study with follow-up interviews was conducted from November 2015-June 2018. A post-burn baseline interview was conducted 6 months after the event, followed by annual surveys for three years.

Methods: The burn survivors received structured assessment through telephone in the four-wave interviews, including the five-item Brief Symptom Rating Scale (BSRS-5); two-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2); four-item Startle, Physiological Arousal, Anger, and Numbness Scale (SPAN-4); and six-item Impact of Event Scale (IES-6) alongside demographic data and other health-related assessment.

Findings: A total of 180 respondents with the mean age of 23 years old completed the four waves of interview. Using the BSRS-5 as the outcome, each variable had different input in psychological distress during the follow-up years. The main finding was that the SPAN-4 score could predict more than 62% of psychological distress between 6 months and 3 years after the disaster. The generalized estimating equation demonstrated that SPAN-4, IES-6, family functioning impairment, hypnotics use, adaptation to the event, and PHQ-2 could predict psychological distress. However, the variable of follow-up year did not exemplify significant estimation in the model.

Conclusions: The results indicated that different factors had various influences on psychological distress across the four follow-up stages. PTSD-like symptoms, depression, and anxiety were the most common psychological problems experienced by the young burn cohort in the longitudinal post-traumatic period.

Clinical relevance: Healthcare providers should be aware of psychological consequences of traumatic events within up to a 3-year post-burn period, particularly post-traumatic stress, depression, and anxiety symptoms.

Keywords: Taiwan; anxiety; burn disasters; longitudinal study; psychological distress.

MeSH terms

Adult
Cohort Studies
Disasters*
Humans
Longitudinal Studies
Psychological Distress*
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic* / etiology
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic* / psychology
Stress, Psychological
Survivors / psychology
Taiwan
Young Adult