Faculty Articles
Children’s Distress During Burn Treatment Is Reduced by Message Therapy
Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Journal of Burn Care Rehabilitaiton
ISSN
0273-8481
Publication Date
3-2001
Abstract
Before dressing changes, 24 young children (mean age = 2.5 years) hospitalized for severe burns received standard dressing care or massage therapy in addition to standard dressing care. The massage therapy was conducted to body parts that were not burned. During the dressing change, the children who received massage therapy showed minimal distress behaviors and no increase in movement other than torso movement. In contrast, the children who did not receive massage therapy responded to the dressing change procedure with increased facial grimacing, torso movement, crying, leg movement and reaching out. Nurses also reported greater ease in completing the dressing change procedure for the children in the massage therapy group. These findings suggest that massage therapy attenuates young childrens' distress responses to aversive medical procedures and facilitates dressing changes.
DOI
10.1097/00004630-200103000-00021
Volume
22
Issue
2
First Page
191
Last Page
195
NSUWorks Citation
Hernandez-Reif, M.,
Field, T.,
Largie, S.,
Hart, S.,
Redzepi, M.,
Nierenberg, B. P.,
Peck, M.
(2001). Children’s Distress During Burn Treatment Is Reduced by Message Therapy. Journal of Burn Care Rehabilitaiton, 22(2), 191-195.
Available at: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/cps_facarticles/856