Aim. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of aromatherapy on ICU nurses' stress.

Background. Nursing, due to its high sensitivity, is known as one of the most stressful professions. ICU nurses experience more stress than other nurses. This stress can reduce the quality of patient care and results in nurses' feelings of inadequacy and depression. Aromatherapy, as a method of complementary medicine may reduce anxiety and warring.

Method: This was a quasi-experimental study in which 70 nurses, working in intensive care unit, were divided into experimental and control groups. Nurses' stress were measured before intervention, then intervention (inhalation of Lavendula using tags for 4 consecutive shifts, each shift for 20 minutes) was was applied for the experimental group (control group received no intervention). At the end of intervention in experimental group, the stress was again measured in both groups. Data were analyzed using the Chi-square and t-test in the SPSS, version 20.

Findings. After intervention, the mean of stress in experimental group (20.57±4.20) was not statistically different when compared with control group (22.43±5/24). But, in the experimental group, the mean of stress score after intervention (20.57±4.20) was significantly lower than the mean of stress score before intervention (22.32±4.61) (P=0/001). Comparing the groups, the changes in mean stress score before and after the intervention was statistically significant (P=0.001).

Conclusion: The findings of this study showed that the Lavender essence can reduce stress in ICU nurses. It is recommended that the aroma of lavender be applied to reduce stress in ICU nurses.

Abstract

Aim. This study was conducted to examine the effect of combined inhalation of lavender oil, chamomile and Neroli oil on vital signs of patients with acute coronary syndrome.

Background. Increase in vital signs in patients with acute coronary syndrome worsens the disease and increases anxiety. The use of complementary medicine for better patient outcomes has been usually considered by the nurses due to the low complications and relatively low costs.

Method. This was a single-blinded, randomized clinical trial that carried out at the Emam Sajad Hospital in Shahryar, Tehran, Iran in 2016.  After obtaining the approval from the Ethics Committee of Iran University of Medical Sciences, 75 patients aged 20 to 80 years who signed the informed consent were recruited and randomly allocated into three groups (control, placebo, and intervention groups) using block randomization design (25 subjects in each group). In the intervention group, patients were asked to strew 2 drops of the aroma on an eye pad, keep their hands at the distance of 5 cm from their nose and take deep breath 10 times. After this, the pad was placed beside the pillow of the patient until the next morning. In the placebo group, this process was carried out using distilled water and the control group received routine care. The patients’ vital signs were measured before intervention, one hour after and every four hours after intervention until the next morning. Data were analyzed in SPSS, version 22, using chi-square test, t-test and ANOVA.

Findings. Before intervention, there was no statistically significant difference between three groups in terms of demographic characteristics as well as pulse rate, respiratory rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure. The results showed that the combination of three aromas decreased pulse rate, respiration rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure in one, four, eight and twelve hours after the intervention in the aromatherapy group compared to the time before the intervention.

Conclusion. The use of aroma as a complementary method in patients with acute coronary syndrome could decrease their pulse rate, respiratory rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Due to the low risk and suitable accessibility to these aromas, the results can be used by nurses in the critical care unit and patient caregivers to improve patients' vital signs.