The Effect of a Recreational Therapy Program on the Pain Anxiety and Quality of Life of Patients with Burn Injuries: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Abstract

Pain anxiety and dysfunction are among the most prevalent complications of burns, impacting the quality of life of patients with burn injuries. As a non-pharmaceutical approach, recreational therapy can be effective in reducing the complications of burns. This study aimed to examine the effect of a recreational therapy program on the pain anxiety and quality of life of patients with burn injuries. This controlled randomized clinical trial was conducted on 58 patients admitted to the burn center of XXX. These patients were randomly allocated to the intervention and control group. The intervention group received a recreational therapy program three sessions a week, for two weeks. The control group performed routine daily activities. As the main variable of the study, the Burn Specific Pain Anxiety Scale and Burn Specific Health Scale-Brief were completed for both groups before and two weeks after the intervention. After controlling confounders, the pain anxiety score in the intervention group was significantly lower than in the control group (p = 0.002). The total quality of life score was significantly higher in the intervention group than the control group (p = 0.001). In addition, the intervention significantly increased the scores of quality of life in the physical (p< 0.001), emotional (p = 0.009), and social (p< 0.001) dimensions. As it reduces pain anxiety and promotes the quality of life of patients with burn injuries, this recreational therapy program is recommended for promoting the mental health and quality of life of these patients.