A qualitative study exploring the perceptions of teachers from low-resourced schools on a resilience oriented burns intervention

Abstract

Burn injuries are one of the most severe injuries a child can experience and are a frequent cause of emergency room visits. In South Africa, paediatric burn injuries are common, especially in informal settlements where the risk is higher. Children who experience burn injuries are at adverse risk of developing negative psychological outcomes and face difficulties reintegrating back into school. Teachers play an integral role in the child’s reintegration back into school. Thus, without teachers' buy-in, any intervention involving children would prove futile. This study adopted an exploratory, qualitative research approach. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model was used as a theoretical framework to explore teachers’ perceptions of the resilience-oriented burn intervention. The study hosted four focus groups, each lasting 60 minutes. In total 32 teachers were selected from four different schools, in low-income areas, from the Johannesburg Metropolitan area through non-probability purposive sampling.