Effect of Benson Relaxation on Fatigue of Nurses Working in Intensive Care Units

Background: Fatigue is one of the important factors in nursing performance because it affects the quality of care provided to the patients. In this regard, some complementary interventions such as Benson relaxation techniques may relieve fatigue. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of Benson relaxation on fatigue of nurses working in intensive care units. Methods: This is an experimental study (pretest-posttest randomized with control group) conducted on 63 nurses working in intensive care units of Shahid Rajai Cardiovascular, Medical and Research Center in Tehran, Iran. Participants were selected by stratified sampling based on wards and were randomly allocated in the intervention and control groups. Benson relaxation method was performed by nurses in the intervention group for 20 minutes twice a day with at least 6 hours interval between 2 sessions. The relaxation therapy was scheduled for 2 weeks. The data were collected via demographic and fatigue questionnaires. After data collection, the Chi-square test, independent t-test, Fisher exact test, and analysis of variance with repeated measures were performed by SPSS, version 21. Results: The results showed that the mean(SD) of fatigue score in the intervention group before, 1, and 2 weeks after intervention were 4.73(0.97), 4.58(0.94), and 4.38(0.85), respectively. Two groups had significant differences in terms of fatigue as the mean fatigue score of the control group increased over time compared to that of the intervention group (P=0.002). Also, there was a significant difference (it decreased) between the mean fatigue score of the nurses before the intervention and 2 weeks after the intervention. However, the mean of fatigue in the control group increased over time. Conclusion: Implementation of Benson relaxation was associated with decreased fatigue of nurses in intensive care units. Therefore, we suggest that managers and authorities of health centers consider Benson relaxation method a part of fatigue reduction plans for nurses.