Self-management interventions for burn survivors: a literature review among patients with burns and other comparable chronic conditions

This review aimed to describe self-management interventions for burn survivors and assess their effectiveness, while also examining interventions for comparable acute onset chronic conditions – myocardial infarction (MI) and lower extremity trauma (LET) – to gain broader insights. Following PRISMA guidelines, a systematic search was conducted across five databases for studies published between January 2010 and October 2025. Eligible studies evaluated self-management interventions in burn survivors, patients with MI or patients with LET. Study quality was assessed using the Downs&Black checklist. In total, 18 studies on 1606 patients met the inclusion criteria: only two focused on burn survivors, providing limited data to draw conclusions about the effectiveness of self-management interventions for this population. Eight MI and eight LET studies were included; seven of these were also of low quality. Interventions varied substantially in design, terminology, outcomes, and rigor. Despite this heterogeneity, self-management interventions generally showed positive effects up to six months post-intervention, with statistically significant improvements particularly in MI patients (sign test, p = 0.008). This review highlights a critical gap in burn care research, emphasizing the scarcity of rigorous studies on self-management for burn survivors and demonstrates the potential benefits for this population by drawing on evidence from other patient groups.