the effect of benson relaxation technique on caregiver burden in the informal caregivers of cancer patients: a randomized controlled trial

Background: informal caregivers provide long-term support and care for cancer patients and they do not receive enough support from the family and the health system; as a result, they suffer from a lot of caregiver burden. objectives: in the current study, we investigated the effect of the benson relaxation technique on caregiver burden in informal caregivers of cancer patients. methods: this randomized clinical trial with a control group was conducted on 113 caregivers, who scored x ≥ 48 from the novak and guest caregiver burden inventory. they were randomly divided into intervention group (n = 57) and control group (n = 56). the intervention group performed benson relaxation twice a day for 20 minutes each time for 1 month. the control group did not receive any intervention. then, after 1 month, novak and guest caregiver burden questionnaire was completed by both groups. the conceptual framework for this study was based on the general system theory modified by ludwig von bertalanffy. results: the mean score of the total caregiver burden before the intervention in the intervention and control groups was 71.16 ± 14.42 and 74.47 ± 15.16, respectively. after the intervention, the mean score of the total care burden in the intervention and control groups changed to 57.21 ± 14.66 and 75.47 ± 13.94, respectively. data analysis shows a significant decrease in the intervention group (p = 0.000). conclusions: the results showed that the benson relaxation technique as a cheap and non-pharmacological method effectively reduces the caregiver burden in informal caregivers of cancer patients.