Rising from the Ashes

Abstract

Burn-injured people are confronted with enormous challenges in their recovery process on a physical, emotional, and spiritual level. Despite the magnitude of trauma, there has been a dearth of research exploring adult burn survivors' perception of their experiences. In this qualitative study, eight burn survivors were interviewed. Influences that impacted their experiences such as perceived memories, time, and age when burned were distinguished from the multiple themes of losses to identity, life style, relationships and physical functioning as well as themes of adaptation, coping and resiliency. Drawing from the burn survivors' stories of recovery can provide insights for social workers and other health care professionals in serving this compelling population more effectively.