Interburns

Who We Are
Interburns, the ‘International Network for Training, Education and Research in Burns’, is a global network of committed burn care and public health professionals working to improve burn prevention initiatives and the quality of care delivered to burn patients globally, with a focus on low and middle income countries (LMICs). As an organisation we are a charity, registered in the United Kingdom (UK).

Our Vision
All LMICs implement effective burn prevention strategies and all patients with burn injuries receive good quality care despite limited resources.

Our Mission
To reduce the global incidence of burn injuries and improve clinical outcomes, by developing and implementing a comprehensive, integrated approach to capacity building and quality improvement in burn care and prevention, targeting low resource environments.

Our Objectives
• To develop relevant, applicable and achievable standards for basic, intermediate and advanced burn care services in low resource and fragile environments.
• To create a participatory service evaluation tool that enables benchmarking and links to quality improvement activity.
• To develop and deliver a portfolio of educational and linked training resources, incorporating both clinical and non-clinical components.
• To undertake research relevant to global burn care and prevention, with a focus on implementation science.
• To establish a global faculty of dedicated volunteers to deliver training, conduct service evaluations, support strategy development and become the future leaders in burn care and prevention.
• To emphasize the interdisciplinary, intersectoral participation required to impact on global burn care and prevention.
• To raise awareness of the global, regional and national burden of burn injuries and advocate for the resources needed to reduce that burden.

Core Principles
We are completely aligned with international standards and driven by humanitarian values. We adhere to the ICRC/NGO Code of Conduct and the Sphere Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response, which guide humanitarian action and promote equality and accountability.

Achievements To Date
• Publication of “Operational Standards for Burn Care in LMICs”, for basic, intermediate and advanced level facilities, 2013.
• Development of a comprehensive, integrated approach to improving burn care in LMICs, linking international standards to participatory self-evaluation tools and a portfolio of face-to-face and online educational and training programmes.
• Development of the Delivery Assessment Tool (DAT) for service evaluation and gap analysis against international standards, informing sustained quality improvement initiatives in burn care services. The DAT has been used by over 35 hospitals in 12 countries.
• LMIC context-specific training courses developed and delivered by international faculty, with a “training of trainers” model enabling extensive local dissemination, with a constant focus on translating knowledge to action: over 10,700 healthcare workers, community volunteers and teachers trained to date.
• Practical action research in LMICs is integrated into all programme development and delivery.
• Our portfolio of educational resources and training courses are freely available online and accessed by surgeons, nurses and therapists from 41 countries.
• 82 healthcare workers from Afghanistan, Austria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Ghana, India, Malawi, Nepal, Netherlands, occupied Palestinian territor (oPt), Switzerland, Taiwan, Uganda and UK have undertaken 3-6 month fellowships in Interburns’ Training Centres (ITCs) in India, Nepal and South Africa.
• Advised on national strategies for the development of burn care and prevention services in Ethiopia, the oPt, Iraq and Sierra Leone.
• A global advocate for burn care and prevention in LMICs, disseminating research and promoting good practice through presentations at international conferences and the publication of over 30 articles.
• Piloted and delivered highly successful community prevention initiatives in oPt, Nepal and Ethiopia.
• All programmes delivered through a network of volunteer faculty, drawn from all over the world, including Europe, North America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. We work hard to bring experts from different countries and disciplines together, recognising the value of learning from each other and a truly multidisciplinary philosophy.

Our project and programme partners reflect our collaborative approach to global burn care and prevention:

• Burn Associations: Nigerian Burn Injuries Society (NBIS); American Burn Association (ABA); European Burn Association (EBA); Pan African Burn Society (PABS); Brazil Burn Society; Burn Care Foundation, India; Acid Survivors Foundation, Bangladesh; Nepal Burn Society.
• The Centre for Global Burn Injury Policy and Research (CGBIPR), Swansea University, Wales 2017-2021
• Choithram International Foundation 2021-ongoing
• Cornell Weiss Medicine, New York, USA 2021-2022
• European Commission Humanitarian Organization (ECHO) 2019-ongoing
• Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) 2015-ongoing
• Interplast (Australia and New Zealand) 2020-2021
• Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF) 2016-2022
• Sagun, Nepal 2016-2022
• World Health Organisation (WHO) 2018-ongoing