Indigenous Burn Survivors Experiences of Injury, Care, and Social Reintegration

Burn injuries have potential for significant long-term impact and require highly specialized treatment to limit sequalae. Indigenous people are impacted by burn injuries at disproportionate rates across colonized countries of Canada, United States, Australia and New Zealand. This study aimed to understand Indigenous burn survivors’ experiences of injury, care, and social reintegration. Hermeneutic methodology was employed with efforts to use a decolonizing approach to the research to understand survivors’ experiences. Three Indigenous individuals who had suffered significant integumentary injuries were interviewed to deepen understanding of the topic. Interpretations from this study revealed that preforming healthcare research with Indigenous people requires particular considerations to understand that what is heard by researchers may not reflect the whole story; stigma from scarring and lateral violence can significantly influence burn survivors reintegration to their communities to where they no longer “fit” the same way; sequalae from injuries result in community role disruption and reworking of identities that effect the individuals ability to connect with their Indigenous heritage as well as impact the larger community; and Indigenous individuals experience unique challenges in accessing specialized burn care. I conclude by recognizing the ongoing impacts of colonization, how anti-Indigenous racism threads through each survivor’s story. Injuries occur within complexities often left unaddressed in current healthcare practices allowing assumptions to perpetuate through care and disconnect providers from survivors’ experience. This study offers healthcare providers an opportunity to better understand Indigenous burn survivors and reflect on how assumptions impact daily care practices.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Nursing (MN)

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Nursing

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Graduate Studies

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Verburg, Leah Joy Marie

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• McCaffrey, Graham
• Gabriel, Vincent

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Markides, Jennifer
• Ginn, Carla

• Indigenous
• reintegration
• burns

Statement dc:rights

• University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.

Language dc:language.iso

en

DOI

https://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/48758

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:ucalgary.scholaris.ca:1880/121168