Effect of Benson's relaxation technique on caregiver burden in caregivers of hemodialysis patients. A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Mahsa Imanian, Somayeh Ramezanli
PMID 36867779WHAT IT FOUND
Family caregivers who learned Benson relaxation, received a CD and pamphlet, and were followed up for one month had an average burden score of 14.46 of 88, versus 34.96 in controls.
Key findings
01After one month, the average caregiver burden score was 14.46 in the relaxation group and 34.96 in the control group, with the relaxation group lower (p<0.001).
02The relaxation group's average burden score was 38.33 before the intervention and 14.46 after it (p=0.001); the control group's score was 35.75 before and 34.96 after (p=0.84).
03The post-intervention average score in the relaxation group, 14.46, falls in the range the paper defines as mild burden (below 20).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was done at one centre in Iran, so it may not apply to other settings or populations. Only caregivers of hemodialysis patients were studied, so it does not show effects for caregivers of other conditions. Sixty caregivers were recruited, but 52 completed; the paper analysed the completers, so dropouts may affect the result. Caregivers were recruited by convenience sampling, not a random population sample. No blinding of caregivers or outcome assessors is described, and the outcome was self-reported burden. The intervention was a package of teaching, a CD, a pamphlet, and follow-up, so the paper cannot show which part reduced burden. Follow-up was only one month, and no patient outcomes or caregiver adherence were reported.
Declared interests
The study was financially supported by Jahrom University of Medical Sciences. The supplied text does not report any other funding or conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that Benson's relaxation alone reduced caregiver burden. The relaxation group also received a teaching session, a CD, a pamphlet, and one month of telephone and SMS follow-up, so the active component cannot be isolated.