Abstract
Story-telling has been found to be beneficial following trauma, suggesting a potential intervention for burn survivors who frequently make use of "telling their story" as part of their recovery. This study is the first to examine the word content of burn survivors' Web-posted narratives to explore their perceptions of the event, supportive resources, their post-burn well-being, and re-integration using a comparison group and a text data analysis software developed by the widely recognized James Pennebaker. Suggestions for using expressive writing or story-telling as a guided psychosocial intervention with burn survivors are made.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 577-594 |
| Number of pages | 18 |
| Journal | Social Work in Health Care |
| Volume | 50 |
| Issue number | 8 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 2011 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The sample was drawn from burn survivors’ autobiographical postings found on the website of the Phoenix Society, a non-profit organization that is dedicated to “empowering anyone affected by a burn injury through peer support, education, and advocacy” (Phoenix Society, 2010). Phoenix Society members may post autobiographical information and their pictures on the Society’s website for the purpose of creating a sense of community, linking with other burn survivors, and facilitating any healing that might come from telling a story connected with the burn injury. Phoenix Society members’ confidentiality is protected by establishing a unique screen name with the option of sharing personal information in their burn story. It is usually possible to extract information such as their Age When Burned, Current Age, Cause of Burn, Total Body Surface Area Burned, and Helpful Support Resources along with the narrative. These established postings are in the public domain and available to anyone once they register on the site. The study was completed with approval by the Institutional Review Board and the support of The Phoenix Society.
Funding
The sample was drawn from burn survivors’ autobiographical postings found on the website of the Phoenix Society, a non-profit organization that is dedicated to “empowering anyone affected by a burn injury through peer support, education, and advocacy” (Phoenix Society, 2010). Phoenix Society members may post autobiographical information and their pictures on the Society’s website for the purpose of creating a sense of community, linking with other burn survivors, and facilitating any healing that might come from telling a story connected with the burn injury. Phoenix Society members’ confidentiality is protected by establishing a unique screen name with the option of sharing personal information in their burn story. It is usually possible to extract information such as their Age When Burned, Current Age, Cause of Burn, Total Body Surface Area Burned, and Helpful Support Resources along with the narrative. These established postings are in the public domain and available to anyone once they register on the site. The study was completed with approval by the Institutional Review Board and the support of The Phoenix Society.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors |
Keywords
- Burn survivors
- Burns
- Expressive writing
- Intervention
- Recovery
- Story-telling
- Text analysis
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Community and Home Care
- Psychiatry and Mental health
