Effect of Orem Self-Care Program on the Life Quality of Burn Patients Referred to Ghotb-al-Din-e-Shirazi Burn Center, Shiraz, Iran: A Randomized Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND Advances in treatment and critical care have largely improved the survival following burns; therefore, the importance of quality of life in burn patients is an issue beyond question. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of Orem self-care program on Quality of Life of burn patients. METHODS A randomized clinical trial study was conducted on 110 eligible burn patients who were selected using easy sampling method and allocated randomly into two groups of experiment and control. The instrument for data collection was a questionnaire, containing demographic and burn information and burn-specific health scale-brief (BSHS-B) questionnaire. For the experiment group, 5 sessions of theoretical training and 75-90 minutes of practical training were accomplished. The quality of life of the patients with burns was assessed in three phases by the BSHS-B questionnaire. The data were analyzed in SPSS-17 using Chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, Independent t-test and repeated measurement multivariate test. RESULTS After one month and two months of the use of self-care model, the quality of life of the cases improved from 73.33% to 83.78% and 98.12%, respectively (P<0.001). But the changes in the quality of life of the patients in the control group were not statistically significant (P>0.05). CONCLUSION Based on the obtained results of this study, designing and implementing a self-care program based on Orem's model and the needs of burn patients will improve their quality of life. Therefore, it is recommended that this program should be considered as a part of treatment program for these patients. Trial Registration Number : 2013042112129N1.