Socio-clinical measurement and registration of the burns using the tool developed by the World Health Organization

Abstract

Given the relatively high incidence of burn injuries in developing countries, preventing burns not only reduces the need for costly specialized care, equipment, and trained staff but also mitigates the profound impacts on health and quality of life in vulnerable populations. To identify associated factors and predict regions with a higher likelihood of occurrence, a comprehensive registration form appears essential. To date, various forms developed by provincial and academic centers have been used nationwide. Nevertheless, a comprehensive form for assessing various dimensions of burns remains unimplemented on a national scale. In this study, we assessed the validity and reliability of the Persian version of the tool provided by the World Health Organization for measuring and recording the social and clinical scales of burns.. Method: Initially, the World Health Organization's global burn registry form was translated into Persian. Subsequently, a preliminary feasibility study was conducted with approximately 10 healthcare professionals from a major referral burn center at Sina Hospital in Tabriz, Iran. After resolving any translation ambiguities, the questionnaire was submitted to a panel of experts for validity assessment. Once validity was confirmed, the questionnaire was distributed for reliability testing. A number of healthcare staff participants, as determined by the expert panel during the validity assessment phase, completed the questionnaire. Subsequently, the questionnaire was re-administered after a brief interval, followed by a factor analysis. Results: In the initial feasibility assessment, no operational barriers or weaknesses in the tool were identified. In the validity assessment, all items scored above 1.5, and there was no misunderstanding or ambiguity in the prepared version of the tool. The Content Validity Ratio (CVR) was determined to be 0.75. Additionally, the tool demonstrated very high reliability, with a Cronbach's alpha correlation coefficient of 1 (95% confidence interval of 1-1).