Ms Daly Geagea¹, Dr Bronwyn Griffin^2,3, Professor Roy Kimble^1,4, Dr Vince Polito⁵, Dr Devin Terhune⁶, Dr Zephanie Tyack¹

¹Centre For Children’s Burns And Trauma Research, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, ²Centre for Children’s Burns and Trauma Research,  Queensland University of Technology , SOUTH BRISBANE, Australia, ³Faculty of Health, School of Nursing, Queensland University of Technology, SOUTH BRISBANE, Australia, ⁴Pegg Leditschke Paediatric Burns Centre, The Queensland Children’s Hospital, SOUTH BRISBANE, Australia, ⁵Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia, ⁶Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths University of London, London, England

Abstract:

Objectives

Burns are common traumatising injuries, warranting painful and distressing treatment procedures that can exacerbate burn-related morbidity. Despite advancements in care, inadequately treated procedural pain, anxiety and itch are still adverse outcomes of burns treatment procedures. Hypnotherapy is a psychologic intervention that can be adapted to varied settings and populations and can address the multiple determinants of pain. Research indicates the effectiveness and potential superiority of hypnotherapy to other psychological interventions for children’s procedural pain and state anxiety in broad paediatric contexts, predominantly involving oncology procedures. Considering potential barriers to intervention delivery and the lack of data on the effectiveness of hypnotherapy in paediatric burns, rigorous effectiveness and feasibility studies are required. The proposed study will examine the feasibility, acceptability, effectiveness and implementation of hypnotherapy for procedural pain, state anxiety and itch in paediatric burns following hypnotic suggestibility screening.

Methods

This observational mixed-methods study will include children (N = 30) with acute burns requiring dressing changes with parents (N = up to 30) and clinicians performing dressing changes (N = up to 20). Child participants with medium to high suggestibility will receive hypnotherapy during dressing changes. A process evaluation will target feasibility and acceptability as primary outcomes and implementation (i.e., fidelity in delivery), reach, effectiveness, and adoption of evaluation procedures and intervention as secondary outcomes.

Conclusion

Findings will guide the conduct of further efficacy trials on hypnotherapy and the delivery of child-centred hypnotic interventions in children with burns.

Trial registration

Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12620000988954

Biography:

Doctor in Pharmacy Practice (PharmD)

Hypnotherapist-Hypnoanaesthesiologist (Certified by the National Guild of Hypnotherapists, USA)

Specialist in Clinical Research in Neurosciences (Certified by Melbourne University, Australia)

NLP Practitioner (Certified by INLEPTA, USA)

Member of the National Guild of Hypnotherapists