Building resilience: A promising approach to reduce anxiety in mothers and hospitalized children with burn injuries

Abstract

The psychological impact of pediatric burn injuries is profound, often resulting in elevated levels of anxiety for both children and their mothers. This quasi-experimental study was conducted to explore the effectiveness of a resilience training program aimed at reducing anxiety among mothers and their hospitalized children with burn injuries at a burn hospital in Shiraz, Iran. Fifty-six eligible mothers were initially selected through purposive sampling and assigned to either the experimental or control group in a 1:1 ratio through random assignment. The experimental group engaged in six sessions of the resilience training program. Anxiety levels were measured using the State Anxiety Inventory (SAI) and State Anxiety Inventory for Children (SAI-C) at multiple time points. Despite some dropouts, fifty mothers and their children were retained for analysis. The impact of the intervention on anxiety improvement was assessed using a Generalized Estimating Equation (GEE) model.. The results indicated that the resilience training program significantly reduced anxiety levels in both mothers and their children over time (p < .001). This reduction in anxiety persisted for five days following the completion of six sessions for mothers and six days for children (p < .05). Resilience training effectively addressed the psychological needs of mothers and their hospitalized children with burn injuries during the acute phase, significantly reducing anxiety levels and sustaining benefits for up to five days for mothers and six days for children post-intervention. While the impact of the training appeared to lessen over time, this underscores its importance in providing immediate support during a critical period. These findings suggest that resilience training is a valuable addition to clinical practice for the acute hospitalization phase, aimed at enhancing mental health and overall well-being in this vulnerable group.

Keywords: Burn injuries; Hospitalized children; Mental health; Parent; Resilience training program.