The Effect of Distraction Technique on the Pain of Dressing Change among 3-6 Year-old Children

Kaheni, Sima; Sadegh Rezai, Mohammad; Bagheri-Nesami, Masoumeh; Goudarzian, Amir Hossein

doi:10.22038/ijp.2016.6699

The Effect of Distraction Technique on the Pain of Dressing Change among 3-6 Year-old Children

Authors

¹ Senior Lecturer, Department of Pediatric Nursing, Mazandaran Pediateric Infectious Disease Research Center (MPIDRC), Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.

² Associate Professor, Mazandaran Pediateric Infectious Disease Research Center (MPIDRC), Bouali Sina Hospital, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.

³ Associate Professor, Department of Medical- Surgical Nursing, Mazandaran Pediateric Infectious Disease Research Center (MPIDRC), Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.

⁴ Nursing Student, Student Research Committee, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.

10.22038/ijp.2016.6699

Abstract

Background
Burn dressings, debridement, surgical incisions, skin grafting and physical therapy are some of painful treatments of burn. According to the studies, distraction techniques have a significant effect on patients’ pain. The present study was designed and conducted to determine the effect of distraction on pain of dressing change in second degree burn in 3-6 year-old children.
Materials and Methods
This randomized controlled trial study, was conducted on 80 hospitalized children with second degree burn in 2015. Playing a video computer game for children during the dressing change procedure was the intervention for the interventional group. Also the intensity of pain was measured by behavioral pain scale for children (FLCC scale) during dressing. This scale was completed for patients without no intervention in the control group during dressing.
Results
Pain intensity mean in the interventional group (2.575 ± 1.807) had significant changes in comparison with the control group (8.025 ± 1.187) (P<0.001). 70% of children in the control group experienced severe pain due to dressing change, but most children in the intervention group (77.5%) had a little pain.
Conclusion
According to the results it seems that distraction intervention has a significant positive effect on the pain of dressing change in children. Further studies are recommended for the development of this technique in health care centers.

Keywords