Engaging the child and family

Intervention to heal and manage a burn can be time-consuming, overwhelming and challenging for both the child and family to implement at home on a daily basis. No intervention is going to be successful unless it is implemented with a family-centered approach and has the 'buy in' of the child and caregiver – that is they understand the reasons why the intervention is recommended and have the capacity to incorporate into their daily routine.

Before providing any intervention, consider what might be impacting on the child’s participation in this task including:

• Timing of intervention and time of day (what would they normally be doing at this time)
• Pain and distress – how anxious about this is child/parent?
• Hunger
• Fatigue
• Effects of medication
• Previous experience with pain/hospital
• Unfamiliar smells, sounds and sights
• Physical restrictions of their immediate environment (being held by the parent, contained in the treatment room, infection control requirements of workplace).