The effect of the active and passive distraction techniques on the burn children's pain intensity and anxiety during dressing changes

Context:

 Pain and anxiety due to the dressing change make it hard to care for children with burn injuries.

This study aims to compare the effect of active and passive distraction techniques on the pain intensity and anxiety related to burn dressing change.

Setting and Design: 

The participants of this quasi-experimental study were 120 children aged 3–6, referred to the clinic in Shahid Motahari Hospital.

Convenience sampling was used, and the children were allocated into three groups:active distraction technique (game), passive distraction technique (music), and control. The intervention in the two experimental groups started 10 min before entering the dressing room and continued during dressing change, while the control group received routine care. The Visual Analog Scale was applied to measure pain, and their anxiety level was evaluated using the Observational Scale of Behavioral Distress-Revised. Statistical Analysis Used: Data were analyzed with independent t-test, ANOVA test, and ANCOVA test.

The mean ages of patients in the control, game, and music groups were 4.30 ± 1.36, 4.01 ± 1.22, and 4.23 ± 1.30 years (P = 0.79), respectively. The mean of the difference in pain intensity scores during dressing change compared to before in the game, music, and control groups was 2.80 ± 3.22, 3.27 ± 3.71, and 4.30 ± 2.42, respectively (P = 0.1). Finally, the mean of differences during dressing change anxiety scores compared to before in the game, music, and control groups was 0.60 ± 0.95, 0.50 ± 1.01, and 0.96 ± 1.06, respectively (P = 0.10).

Given that, playing game positively affected pain decrease and music had a positive effect on reducing anxiety during a burn dressing change.