IMPLEMENTATION OF A VALIDATED ANXIETY ASSESSMENT TOOL TO STANDARDIZE NURSING ASSESSMENT OF PAIN-RELATED ANXIETY IN A BURN INTENSIVE CARE UNIT

ABSTRACTTaylor Gubler: Implementation of a Validated Anxiety Assessment Tool to Standardize NursingAssessment of Pain-Related Anxiety in a Burn Intensive Care Unit(Under the direction of Rachel McInerney) Nurses in the Burn Intensive Care Unit (BICU) in UNC Medical Center’s Jaycee BurnCenter lack a standardized, validated process for assessing anxiety in burn patients, even thoughthe American Burn Association recommends structured anxiety assessment as part of its painmanagement guidelines. This project aimed to evaluate nursing confidence in anxietyassessment, resource utilization, and feasibility of the Burn Specific Pain Anxiety Scale(BSPAS) following implementation of the scale in the BICU.Staff received education on the nine-item self-report BSPAS prior to implementation. Abaseline survey assessed nurses’ perceptions of anxiety assessment quality, wound care quality,and resource utilization. Nurses administered the BSPAS to patients prior to daily procedures for10 weeks. A post-implementation survey evaluated changes in nursing perceptions. Patientanxiety scores were also tracked during hospitalization.Results showed that nurses’ confidence in their ability to accurately assess patient anxietyimproved, with “strongly agree” responses increasing from 25% to 56%. Perceived effectivenessof anxiety treatment improved, with an increase in “somewhat agree” responses from 29% to68%. Initially, 25% of nurses somewhat agreed that implementation of the BSPAS wouldimpede workflow; however, post-implementation, 56% strongly agreed that the scale could beintegrated with minimal workflow interruption. Post-implementation, 96% of nurses agreed thatBSPAS use improved wound care quality, and 80% strongly agreed it enhanced engagement in other therapies. Patient anxiety scores generally decreased over time. Anxiety severity did notcorrelate with total body surface area burned, as both small and large Total Burn Surface Areainjuries demonstrated variable anxiety levels.Implementation of a standardized anxiety assessment tool improved nursing confidence,perceptions of care quality, and awareness of anxiety-related resources. Findings suppor