Development of a symptom assessment scale for moderate-to-severe burn patients in rehabilitation: A Delphi study.

BACKGROUND

Burn injuries pose a major global public health challenge, causing significant physical and psychological harm. Comprehensive symptom assessment is critical for the effective rehabilitation of moderate-to-severe burn patients, but existing tools lack specificity for their unique symptom profile during rehabilitation. This study aimed to develop a targeted symptom assessment scale for these patients, addressing the gap in specialized evaluation tools.

METHODS

The Delphi technique was used to determine the content of the Symptom Assessment Scale for Moderate-to-Severe Burn Patients During Rehabilitation (SAS-MBR). Predefined item inclusion criteria were a mean importance score ≥ 3.5, expert consensus (agreement or strong agreement) ≥ 75%, and a coefficient of variation (CV) < 0.25. Two rounds of consultation were conducted with a panel of 25 interdisciplinary burn experts (18 completed both rounds).

RESULTS

After two Delphi rounds, 31 items were retained, categorized into four domains: Scar Characteristics, Systemic Functional Impairment, Psychological & Sleep, and Social Maladjustment. Strong inter-expert agreement was observed (Kendall's W = 0.390, P < 0.001), confirming substantial content validity and consensus on the framework.

CONCLUSION

The SAS-MBR demonstrates good content validity and practicability in assessing symptoms among moderate-to-severe burn patients during rehabilitation. It captures the distinctive challenges of burn rehabilitation and the specific needs in China, further enriching the assessment system for burn care.