Pain and anxiety caused by
burn dressing change are one of the major issues in
burn patients. In this regard,
guided imagery as a complementary method can be effective in reducing the levels of anxiety and
pain. This method is the process of creating mental images and using sensory features through the individual's imagination and memory that facilitate the achievement of desired therapeutic outcomes. Therefore, this study was aimed at determining the effect of
guided imagery on the quality and severity of
pain and
pain-related anxiety associated with dressing change in
burn patients. This is a single-blinded randomized controlled trial in which a total of 70
burn patients were enrolled using convenience sampling and randomly allocated to two groups of intervention and control (n = 35 in each group). Each patient in the intervention group received four sessions of
guided imagery during four consecutive days (one session a day) using a headphone. Then in both groups, the level of
pain was assessed after the dressing change and the level of
pain-related anxiety was assessed before the dressing change (between the end of the intervention and the initiation of dressing change). Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire, the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), the short-form McGill
Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ), and the
Burn Specific
Pain Anxiety Scale (BSPAS). Data were first entered into the IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, version 25.0 and then analyzed using repeated-measures Analysis of Variance. The repeated measures ANOVA indicated the mean score of the quality and severity of
pain and
pain-related anxiety differed statistically and significantly after the intervention (during the four sessions) compared to before it (baseline) in the intervention group (p < 0.001). The independent-samples t-test indicated a statistically significant difference in the mean scores of the quality and severity of
pain and
pain-related anxiety between the two groups (p < 0.001). This difference was found to be significant from the second session onwards (p < 0.001). Medical staff, including physicians, nurses and other healthcare professionals, are responsible for developing strategies to manage complications of
burn injuries. Considering the effectiveness of
guided imagery in reducing anxiety and
pain in
burn patients, it is recommended to use this method of
complementary medicine to manage stress, anxiety, and
pain in these patients.