Exploring Burn Survivors' Perceived Product Characteristics of Burn Pressure Garments for Long-Term Rehabilitation: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Burn pressure garments are essential therapeutic garments used in the long-term rehabilitation of burn survivors, helping to prevent hypertrophic scar formation and promote functional recovery. Despite their recognised therapeutic benefits, many burn survivors experience difficulty maintaining prolonged garment use, compromising rehabilitation outcomes and reducing quality of life. Existing research has primarily focused on the clinical effectiveness, compression levels, and material properties of burn pressure garments, while limited attention has been given to the product characteristics needed to better support sustained wear and long-term rehabilitation as informed by burn survivors' lived experiences. Addressing this knowledge gap is important for developing products that better respond to users' long-term rehabilitation needs and promote sustained wear adherence. This study aimed to explore burn survivors' lived experiences of wearing burn pressure garments during long-term rehabilitation. The objectives were to identify the product characteristics needed to better support sustained wear and long-term rehabilitation from burn survivors' experiences, and to generate patient-informed evidence to inform future burn pressure garment development and rehabilitation practice. A qualitative research design was adopted. Using purposive sampling, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 adult burn survivors who had experience wearing burn pressure garments. The interview data were analysed using Braun and Clarke's Reflexive Thematic Analysis. As a qualitative study based on a purposively selected sample, the findings should be interpreted within the specific rehabilitation context. The analysis revealed that successful long-term use of burn pressure garments depends not only on therapeutic effectiveness but also on a range of product characteristics identified through burn survivors' experiences. These include comfort during prolonged wear, visibility of rehabilitation progress, aesthetic appearance and social acceptability, compatibility with everyday activities, opportunities to trial and select suitable garments, and convenience in long-term use and maintenance. Participants also described how improvements in these aspects would better support their rehabilitation needs and increase their willingness to continue wearing the garments over time. Synthesising these experiences and recommendations enabled the identification of key product characteristics that support sustained wear and long-term rehabilitation. The findings provide practical implications for burn pressure garment development, rehabilitation practice, and wearable medical product innovation. By translating burn survivors' lived experiences into patient-informed product characteristics, the study offers evidence to guide product development, rehabilitation support, and patient communication, ultimately promoting long-term wear adherence, improving rehabilitation outcomes, and enhancing the quality of life of burn survivors.