Effectiveness of a Burn Rehabilitation Workshop Addressing Confidence in Therapy Providers

Abstract

The study first assessed comfort levels of physical and occupational therapists who provide burn care prior to a hands-on intervention, then assessed therapists' confidence levels following an educational intervention. Physical and occupational therapists who previously treated burn survivors were invited to complete a preworkshop confidence level survey. From this information, four burn rehabilitation interventional categories were identified: positioning and exercise, compression, wound healing, and burn resources. A one-day workshop was held targeting these categories. Surveys were offered at the conclusion of the workshop as well as at 6-month follow-up. Initial survey results (n = 31) indicated that more than 75% of therapists felt unconfident or strongly unconfident in providing burn rehabilitation to patients. The postworkshop survey demonstrated significant improvements in all interventional categories. Further analysis revealed that baseline confidence levels for positioning and exercise were significantly higher than the other categories (P < .03). Six-month follow-up results (n = 20) confirmed that confidence gained from the workshop remained significantly higher than preworkshop confidence levels. Baseline therapists' confidence levels in treating burn survivors were low, but improved following a one-day educational workshop. Providing hands-on burn education improved the confidence of therapists who treat burn survivors. Future efforts to improve therapist confidence and patient outcomes need to be explored.