A burn care quality improvement programme tested in Nepal and Bangladesh—already shown to improve outcomes for over 15,000 patients—is being evaluated for wider use in resource-poor and conflict-affected countries. Burns are a major global health challenge, yet most research and treatment standards come from wealthy countries with well-equipped hospitals. In low- and middle-income settings, there are no effective tools to measure whether burn patients actually recover well, nor data on the long-term economic costs of burns or the savings from better care. This project fills those gaps. If successful, the research could produce a practical toolkit for building national burn care systems from scratch, simplified outcome measures usable at scale, and economic models that show governments and aid agencies where to invest limited resources for the greatest impact. The work also trains local researchers, building lasting capacity rather than relying on outside experts. The result would be fewer deaths and disabilities from burns, and more cost-effective health spending in some of the world’s most vulnerable communities.
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Swansea University has demonstrated significant upwards trajectory over the past decade, evidenced by its performance in REF2014 where it was cited as making the biggest lead by an UK research intensive institution in its research performance, ranking 26th in the UK. In 2016, it was rated best University in Wales and has a radical and ambitious programme in place to become one of the top 200 Universities in the World by 2020. This commitment to global impact was underlined in 2016 by the creation of the CGBIPR, the only such centre focused specifically on the pressing global health issue of burns in resource-poor settings. As a major international public health challenge, the global burns field extends far beyond the setting of clinical capacity and requires input from a diverse range of disciplines and actors with relevant expertise. The Centre has in place rapid access to enable interdisciplinary collaboration across a range of disciplines, with health economics, outcomes research, nursing, social care, public health, health psychology, implementation science and social policy, with strong established links with teams within Swansea University Medical School and in and School of Management. A key element of the CGBIPR is to build capacity in the area of global burns research. This initiative will directly contribute to a number of key Strategic Aims defined in the Strategic Plan 2014-2019 for the College of Human and Health Sciences at Swansea University: -Increase the quantity and quality of novel, rigorous and applied research that has international reach and significance -Foster strong collaborative links with other research centres -Form new initiatives with third sector and governments to help synergise research into policy, practice and commercial opportunities -Develop and maintain international partnerships and networks that will enhance student recruitment and support research and teaching opportunities The CGBIPR’s overall strategy is based on 3 main research pillars: Research Pillar 1: Using systems thinking and implementation science to transform burn care in resource poor and conflict environments. - Stream 1.1: Evaluating the impact and effectiveness of a comprehensive quality improvement approach to burn care and an implementation strategy for scaling up and replication in other countries. Since 2013, Interburns has developed a QI approach, based on consensus international standards for burns services in LMICs. A DfID funded programme from 2013-2016 delivered this programme in Nepal and Bangladesh and received a final project score of A+ for its impact on over 15,000 burn patients. This project will evaluate this approach and also create a participatory toolkit for developing integrated national systems of burn care in resource-poor countries. - Stream 1.2: Measuring the impact of quality improvement on end beneficiaries: There are currently no effective outcome measures for burn patients using the biopsychosocial model that are applicable in a resource-poor setting. This Stream will develop and pilot simplified outcome measures that can be used at scale to analyse the true impact of capacity-building on end beneficiaries. - Stream 1.3: Quantifying the long-term costs of burn injuries and the cost benefits of improved care and prevention. The Swansea Centre for Health Economics (SCHE), which is based within the College of Human and Health Sciences, will provide health economics support. Understanding the economic drivers is vital for estimating the economic impact of burns and the consequences for individuals, communities and countries. This work will provide the foundation for utilising economic modelling techniques to estimate optimal use of available resources to deliver cost effective interventions in resource poor settings. - Stream 1.4: Developing Research Skills: The CGBIPR will develop and deliver a portfolio of innovative educational and training tools specif
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