RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Children with thalassemia are generally dependent on blood transfusions and face a lot of stress and alteration in their physiological parameters through the procedure. AIM: This study aimed to investigate the effect of Benson's relaxation technique versus music intervention on physiological parameters and stress of children with thalassemia during blood transfusions. DESIGN: A randomized, controlled trial with three parallel groups. METHODS: One hundred and twenty preschool-age children with thalassemia who underwent blood transfusions were randomly assigned to three groups. Children of the control group received only routine hospital care through blood transfusions. Music intervention group children listened to recorded Mozart's music and children of Benson's relaxation group received relaxation intervention before and during the blood transfusions. Outcome measures were physiological parameters and behavioral distress levels. SETTING: Hematology outpatient clinic of the Children's University Hospital at El-Shatby in Alexandria from October 2022 to February 2023. RESULTS: The mean total score of children's behavioral responses to stress before the blood transfusions procedure was 19.32 ± 4.08, 14.20 ± 0.93, and 16.92 ± 4.74 in the control, music, and Benson groups, respectively. Beyond that, there was a decline in their physiological parameters and behavioral stress response during and after procedure among groups of study (P = 0.005 & <0.001, respectively). CONCLUSION: Music and Benson's relaxation interventions had a helpful effect on stabilizing the physiological parameters and reducing behavioral distress levels in children with thalassemia undergoing blood transfusions. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: This study directs paediatric nurses to apply Benson's relaxation and music interventions for children with thalassemia to enhance their responses.