Summary
This paper reviews the work of Jodaki et al. 2021 titled “Effect of Rosa damascene Aromatherapy on Anxiety and sleep quality in cardiac patients: A Randomized controlled trial.” The study was conducted to determine the impact of Rosa damascene oil on anxiety levels and the quality of sleep for patients who had cardiac arrests. The link to the article is https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1744388120311749
Research Question
- Can aromatherapy reduce anxiety and improve sleep quality for cardiac arrest patients?
Methods
Randomization of patients was done in the cardiac care units, where the patients were recruited after 24 hours of hospitalization. Sixty participants who met the inclusion criteria and consented to participate in the trial were conveniently sampled. The patients were assigned to two groups; the experimental group (n=30) involved patients who were made to inhale five drops of rosa damascene essence oil, while the control group (n=30) was given drops of distilled water as a placebo. Both groups’ sleep quality and anxiety levels were taken and recorded for three consecutive nights using the St. Mary’s Hospital Sleep Quality Questionnaire (SMHSQ) and the Spiel Berger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) questionnaire tools.
Data Analysis and Results
Descriptive statistics from the study participants found that the average age was 56.6 years, while most were male participants at 66.7%. To answer the research problem, an independent samples t-test was carried out to determine if there were any significant differences in sleep quality and anxiety levels between the two groups. At the same time, ANOVA was used to examine anxiety and sleep quality changes over time within each group.
Results from the t-test for the two groups gave (t = 7.77, p < 0.001) for anxiety levels and (t = 7.77, p < 0.001) for sleep quality. Further, the intervention group recorded a lower mean anxiety score and a higher mean sleep quality score. Evaluation of these results at a 5% significance level, implying a statistically significant difference in anxiety levels and sleep quality scores between the groups. Therefore, it is concluded that rose damascene impacted reducing anxiety levels and improved the sleep quality of the intervention group participants.
The trials also used a repeated-measures ANOVA to determine whether there were changes in anxiety levels and sleep quality over time within the intervention and control groups. There was a significant difference in anxiety scores over time (F = 12.93, p < 0.001). The intervention group reported a significant decrease in anxiety scores over time. There was also a significant difference in sleep quality scores over time (F = 36.07, p < 0.001), with the intervention group reporting a significant increase in sleep quality over consecutive recording intervals. Calculating Cohen’s d, a measure of the difference between groups, for the effect size between the intervention and control groups further confirmed the validity of the results above. Anxiety levels had a 1.68 effect size, while sleep quality recorded 1.93. These effect sizes indicate a very large effect for both variables.
Conclusion
The results from the analysis performed give enough evidence to conclude that rosa damascene as aromatherapy was effective. Sleep quality is better, and anxiety levels are managed in the intervention group. The findings offer a new approach to handling cardiac arrest patients by introducing non-pharmacology interventions in nursing care.
Reflection on the Choice of the Article
In most instances, medics have used pharmacological approaches to reduce anxiety levels and improve sleep quality in cardiac arrest patients. They have achieved results, however, at an expensive cost to the patient’s health. Benzodiazepine drugs put patients at risk of excessive bleeding, bruising and tolerance, and dependence on them (Beizaee et al., 2018).
This article discusses non-pharmacological interventions, a significant departure from the usual pharmacological interventions. For patients undergoing coronary angiography, cardiac arrests, and cardiovascular problems, interventions such as aromatherapy, acupressure, and massage are a great relief, friendly, and do not pose any health concerns (Mahmoodi et al., 2012). The article shows that aromatherapy and other solutions, such as acupressure and massage interventions, significantly reduce anxiety and boost sleep quality in these patients. This is a step toward improving the patient’s overall experience and recovery process. Moreover, it highlights the importance of incorporating complementary therapies in nursing practice.
Innovative nursing practice is vital in helping cardiac arrests and other cardiovascular patients recover quickly without any other health implications. Non-pharmacological interventions such as massage, acupressure, and other innovative solutions are welcomed to make easy the recovery process for patients.
References
Beizaee, Y., Rejeh, N., Heravi-Karimooi, M., Tadrisi, S. D., Griffiths, P., & Vaismoradi, M. (2018). The effect of guided imagery on anxiety, depression and vital signs in patients on hemodialysis. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, pp. 33, 184–190.
Jodaki, K., Mousavi, M. S., Mokhtari, R., Asayesh, H., Vandali, V., & Golitaleb, M. (2021). Effect of rosa damascene aromatherapy on anxiety and sleep quality in cardiac patients: A randomized controlled trial. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 42, 101299
Mahmoodi, G., Mokhberi, V., Hassani, S., Akbarzadeh, H., & Rahnamai, N. (2012). The impact of aromatherapy on the anxiety of patients experiencing coronary angiography. Zahedan Journal of Research in Medical Sciences, 14(3).
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