The effect of relaxation response techniques on the anxiety level of breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy at Prof. dr. IGNG Ngoerah Hospital, Bali, Indonesia

Background: Psychological interventions such as cognitive behavioral therapy, expressive supportive group therapy, and yoga have a positive effect on breast cancer patients. "Relaxation Response Technique, " a relaxation therapy that combines deep breath relaxation techniques and beliefs, provides multiple benefits in awakening calm in humans. Parasympathetic nerves will be stimulated while sympathetic nerves will be inhibited, so a sense of comfort will appear. This study aims to evaluate the effect of relaxation response techniques on the anxiety level of breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Methods: Research conducted with one group pre and post-test experimental design to assess the effectiveness of relaxation response on the anxiety level of breast cancer patients before and after chemotherapy. The sample was taken at Ngoerah Hospital One Day Care (ODC) Chemotherapy Clinic from March until December 2023. Female patients aged 18 to 60 years with a diagnosis of breast cancer who undergo chemotherapy treatment in Ngoerah Hospital One Day Care (ODC) Chemotherapy Clinic were invited. The exclusion criteria are patients who had a decrease of consciousness, ever had cognitive impairment, were illiterate, had severe medical illness comorbidity, and refused to join the study. 30 patients were included in the study. Patients were evaluated two times for their anxiety level at the beginning and end of the Relaxation Response Technique (RRT) intervention was done, using the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). BAI data were analyzed statistically. Results: From 30 patients recruited, all of them finished the RRT interventions had evaluated for their anxiety level, pre and post-intervention using BAI. The BAI score pre-test was higher within the range 3 – 30, with a mean score of 8.70 ± 7.269, compared with the post-test BAI Score ranged from 0 – 8, with a mean of 2.67 ± 2.106. From the BAI score categorical data, the pre-test BAI Score showed 21 samples (70%) without anxiety and 30% with anxiety ranging from mild to severe anxiety level. After intervention with RRT, 100% of the samples were without anxiety. Analytical data with a non-parametric Wilcoxon signed-rank test showed a significant decrease between the pre-test BAI mean score and the post-test BAI mean score (Z=14.50; p < 0.000). Conclusion: The relaxation response technique (RRT) can reduce the level of anxiety in breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy at Ngoerah Hospital One Day Care (ODC) Chemotherapy Clinic.