Coghlan1,2, J. Copley 2, T.Aplin 3, J.Strong 4
1 Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, Occupational Therapy, DJM Building, Butterfield Street, Herston, QLD, 4029, nicole.coghlan@health.qld.gov.au
2 School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Queensland, Therapies Building (#84), St Lucia, QLD 4074, j.copley@uq.edu.au
3 School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Queensland, Therapies Building (#84), St Lucia, QLD 4074, t.aplin1@uq.edu.au
4 School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Queensland, Therapies Building (#84), St Lucia, QLD 4074, j.strong@uq.edu.au
With post burn management now strongly focused on morbidity, rehabilitation programs are designed to address functional, physical and psychological changes post injury (Silwa, Heinemann & Semik 2005). One of the components of the rehabilitation programme is the wearing of compression garments to influence scar formation (Chapman 2007). However, despite the potential advantages of wearing compression garments, it is noted clinically that patients often do not wear compression garments to the recommended extent. This study has been designed to explore the experience of wearing compression garments and the patient decisions that influence adherence to wearing compression garments.
The systematic review completed for this study revealed that previous research has focused on identifying factors that lead to the removal of compression garments such as garment fit and feel. Only one study has explored the patient experience of wearing compression garments (Martin, Bonas, Shepherd & Hedges 2016). We hope to further expand on this literature and explore patient experiences regarding compression garments as well as personal and contextual factors including climate and access to services, which may impact upon levels of adherence to compression garments. A descriptive qualitative research design involving semi-structured interviews is utilised in this study.
This study will allow for increased knowledge of the experience of wearing compression garments and the patient decisions which influence adherence to wearing. This should allow for better tailored or individualised treatment approaches to improve the experience of wearing compression garments and the overall adherence rate.
Key Words
Scar Management, Compression Garment, Experience, Adherence, Qualitative
References
Chapman, T 2007, Burn Scar and Contracture Management’, The Journal of Trauama: Injury, Infection, and Critical Care, vol. 22, no. 6, pp.757-767.
Martin, C, Bonas, S, Shepherd, L & Hedges, E 2016, ‘The experience of scar management for adults with burns: An interpretive phenomenological analysis’, Burns, In press
Silwa, JA, Heinemann, A & Semik, P 2005, ‘ Inpatient rehabilitation following burn injury: patient demographics and functional outcomes’, Arch Phys Med Rehabil, vol. 86, pp. 1920-1923
Biography
Ms Coghlan is an occupational therapist working at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital burns unit. She will presenting her masters research study focusing on the patient experiences and decisions influencing compression garment wear. With this research she hopes to improve the wearing of compression garments for burn survivors.