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Master of Public Health

Pediatric Burn Care in the Developing World: Where are the Gaps in Research and What can be Done?

AUTHORS

Bresler RM , Barksdale E , Hansen EN , . Journal of burn care & research : official publication of the American Burn Association. 2022 2 16; ().

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Burns are the fourth most common cause of injury worldwide. The burden of burn injury is largely carried by low and middle-income countries (LMICs) with children in these regions being particularly vulnerable to burns. The purpose of this scoping review is to identify knowledge gaps in global paediatric burn care experience in an effort to help prioritise future research.

METHODS: Using the 6-stage Arksey and O’Malley framework for conducting a scoping review, paediatric burn care literature was reviewed over a ten-year period from 2010 to 2020. Studies from low-resource settings were included and categorised by geographic location, study patient population, study type, type of burn, and level of evidence.

RESULTS: Of 107 included studies, 34% and 49% originated from LMICs in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, respectively. Qualitative/Observational (73%) and Epidemiological Single-Centre (20%) publications comprised the majority of included papers. The majority (95%) of all papers regardless of geographical location were lower levels of evidence (Level 3 or below).

CONCLUSION: Our study identified four primary knowledge gaps: (1) a paucity of high-quality studies to guide burn care in LMICs; (2) an under-representation of articles from certain geographical locations; (3) few therapeutic and economic articles to guide resource allocation; and (4) a lack of articles with long-term patient follow up. Efforts to address these disparities could help reduce the paediatric burn burden of disease in resource-poor settings.

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