THE EFFECTS OF BENSON RELAXATION TECHNIQUE AND NATURE SOUND’S ON ANXIETY IN PATIENTS WITH HEART FAILURE

Anxiety, as one of the prevalent symptoms in patients with heart failure (HF), has
significantly affected HF prognosis. This research was carried out with the aim of comparing the effect
of applying the techniques of Benson muscle relaxation and nature sounds on anxiety in the patients
with HF.
Materials & Methods: As a randomized clinical trial with a control group,this study used convenience
sampling to recruit 105 patients with HF who were admitted to the cardiac intensive care unit at the
teaching hospitals of Mazandaran University of Medical Science in 2016.Through randomized block
design,the patients were allocated to the three groups of Benson muscle relaxation,nature sounds,and
control group.Besides the routine care, the patients in each of the two groups of Benson muscle
relaxation and nature sounds received intervention twice a day(morning and evening)for 20 minutes for
three consecuative days.The data were collected immediately before and after the intervention, using
Spielberger state anxiety inventory questionnaire.Data analysis was performed by using paired t-test,
Chi-square and one way analysis of variance via SPSS v.22.
Results: As the results indicated, no significant difference was observed between the groups regarding
to the mean score of anxiety before interventions in the morning and evening in each day. There were
no significant differences between the groups regarding to the intensity of anxiety after interventions in
the morning and evening in each day. Also, there was no significant difference before and after Benson
muscle relaxation regarding to the anxiety intensity in each day. There was no significant difference
before and after nature sound intervention in terms of the anxiety intensity in each day.
Conclusion: Given the ineffectiveness of interventions on anxiety in patients with HF and the
applicability, inexpensiveness, and availability of these supplementary methods, it is suggested to
examine the effect of other methods on these patients to discover the techniques that are beneficial for
clinical outcomes and symptoms