Use of Breathing Exercises and Stress Balls During Dressing Changes in Burn Patients

Before the dressing procedure, patients who volunteer to participate in the study will be given a patient information form, a burn-specific pain anxiety scale, and their pain level before dressing will be recorded using the GAS. After their vital signs are checked, they will be given a practical demonstration of breathing exercises. The breathing exercise will first be explained verbally by the project coordinator in the burn centre's training room, followed by a practical demonstration. The patient will then be asked to perform the exercise. Once the project coordinator is confident that the patient has learned how to perform the breathing exercise, the patient will be taken to the dressing room. During the standard dressing procedure, the patient will be instructed to continue performing the breathing exercise. Immediately before the dressing change, the patient will be positioned comfortably, and they will be instructed to use the breathing

The stress ball is made of a medium-hard plastic material that can be easily held in the hand. Before the dressing procedure, patients who volunteer to participate in the study will be given information about the use of the stress ball after the patient information form, the burn-specific pain and anxiety scale, and the pain level before dressing have been recorded using the GAS, and their vital signs have been checked. During the standard dressing procedure, patients will be instructed to squeeze and release the stress ball periodically until the dressing procedure is complete, focusing solely on the stress ball during this time (Ozen et al., 2023) (Kasar et al., 2020). A separate stress ball will be used for each patient in the stress ball group to ensure that the effectiveness of the stress ball remains consistent. To support patients' relaxation during the dressing procedure, a stress ball usage guide prepared by the project team will be provided

The standard dressing procedure in the control group is as follows: The protective covering over the wound is removed, and the wound is washed with an irrigation solution. Appropriate medications (decontamination and moisturising gel, debridement gel, alginate, antibiotics, and medications that promote cell regeneration) are applied based on the condition of the wound. A non-adhesive wound care dressing is then placed over the wound, and gauze is applied on top to cover it. Analgesia is not routinely administered in standard wound care. The dressing procedure takes an average of 5 minutes, depending on the size of the burn wound. In the control group, before the dressing procedure, the patient who volunteered to participate in the study will be given a patient information form, a burn-specific pain anxiety scale, and the pain level before dressing will be recorded using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and vital signs will be checked,