The Effects of a Blended Educational, Supportive, and Follow‑Up Infantile Colic Program on Parents` Care Burden: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: infantile colic (ic) imposes multifactorial problems on the parents, and appropriate interventions are needed to alleviate the care burden. objectives: this study aimed to assess the effects of an educational, supportive, and follow‑up ic program on the parents’ caregiver burden (cb). methods: this randomized controlled trial was conducted with 64 parents whose infants suffered from ic. participants were randomly assigned to an intervention group (n = 32) and a control group (n = 32). the intervention group received a blended educational, supportive, and follow‑up intervention for 2 weeks. the control group received routine care. caregiver burden was assessed on three occasions, before, immediately after, and 1 month after the intervention, using the zarit burden scale. data were analyzed through repeated‑measures analysis of variance, independent‑samples t‑test, chi‑square, fisher’s exact, and mann–whitney u tests. results: there was a significant difference between the mean scores of cb in the two groups measured immediately and 1 month after the interventions (p < 0.001). the mean score of cb was significantly lower in the intervention group than in the control group after the intervention (p < 0.05). conclusion: the blended educational, supportive, and follow‑up program could help alleviate parental care burden. implementing such a program is recommended to reduce cb and associated problems among parents.