The Burn Injury Model System National Database is a prospective, longitudinal, multi-center research data repository that contains measures of functional and psychosocial outcomes following burns. The BMS National Database consists of data collected from individuals with moderate to severe burn injury to learn more about long-term outcomes after a burn injury. BMS data are collected either by paper and pencil, in person or over the phone interviews, or using online surveys. Surveys are completed at discharge from the hospital, 6-months post injury, 12-months post injury, 24-months post injury, and then every five years thereafter. Procedures for data collection are guided by the Standard Operating Procedures.
The DOI for the BMS NDB is: DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/SWC2P
The BMS National Database welcomes the use of the data by external researchers who share our goal of improving lives of burn survivors.
To review the data in the database, review the Annual Report. Click here to download a PDF.
The objective of the BMS National Database is to provide a core set of variables which support rigorous research that:
The BMS NDB contains data on over 4,000 adults and 2,000 children with moderate to severe burn injury (for a complete list of inclusion criteria, click here). The variables and measures collected include demographics (such as sex, age, race and ethnicity), injury characteristics (such as total body surface area burned and etiology of injury), and outcome measures that assess domains such as pain, itch, depression, and more. Some specific measures currently collected include PROMIS-29, and the Post Traumatic Growth Inventory. You can download an overview of all variables collected by following this link.
Annually Published Public Access
The Public Dataset is published annually and contains data collected up to two years prior to its publication date. Data are stripped of all HIPAA-defined identifiers, including names, geographic subdivisions smaller than a state, elements of dates (except year) related to an individual, telephone numbers, fax numbers, email addresses, social security numbers, and medical record numbers.
Custom Data Access
A Custom Data Set includes all available data (i.e., all data available at the time of request), and is available free of charge to researchers with specific hypotheses who might want BMS input or collaboration.
The Annually Published Dataset includes:
A Custom Dataset includes:
Both datasets:
Annually Published Public Dataset
Custom Dataset (Watch this Webinar to Learn More):
Please review the list of publications in progress and any previously published manuscripts before you request BMS data to avoid duplication. To gain access to the data please follow the simple procedures described in this data access fact sheet (pdf download).
When you request data you will need to have an understanding of the variables included in the dataset, including how they are coded and when they were collected. The BMS Data Dictionary (excel file download) contains all of this information. To see what the paper surveys look like, along with the related variable names, you can view the current BMS Codebook (pdf download) that consists of the newest BMS data collection forms (data collection begun in 2022). Click here for the previous version of the BMS Codebook (pdf download) (data collected using these forms from 2018-2022).
Because it's a long term project (data has been collected since 1993) that has changed over time, using the BMS database can be complicated. Click here for a PowerPoint presentation that guides you through the BMS Data Dictionary and provides more information about using the database. As an additional tool, this PDF provides an overview of what variables have been collected at which time points since 1993.
Ready to request a customized dataset? Fill out this form and send it to burndata@uw.edu.
To access the BMS Webinar Series, click here. These webinars provide more information on accessing and using the BMS, as well as further details about the data collected by the BMS.
You can obtain a free public version of the dataset by filling out the form at https://is.gd/bmspublicdataset . This dataset was posted on July 31st, 2023, and contains data collected from 1993 through the end of 2020.