1. Aromatherapy: Does It Help to Relieve Pain, Depression, Anxiety, and Stress in Community-Dwelling Older Persons?
- Author
-
Mun Yee Mimi Tse and Shuk Kwan Tang
- Subjects
Male ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Aromatherapy ,Article Subject ,Psychological intervention ,lcsh:Medicine ,Anxiety ,General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology ,Cohort Studies ,medicine ,Elderly people ,Humans ,Pain Management ,Depression (differential diagnoses) ,Aged ,Pain Measurement ,Aged, 80 and over ,Pain score ,General Immunology and Microbiology ,business.industry ,Depression ,lcsh:R ,Chronic pain ,General Medicine ,medicine.disease ,Physical therapy ,Female ,medicine.symptom ,business ,Stress, Psychological ,Cohort study ,Research Article - Abstract
To examine the effectiveness of an aromatherapy programme for older persons with chronic pain. The community-dwelling elderly people who participated in this study underwent a four-week aromatherapy programme or were assigned to the control group, which did not receive any interventions. Their levels of pain, depression, anxiety, and stress were collected at the baseline and at the postintervention assessment after the conclusion of the four-week programme. Eighty-two participants took part in the study. Forty-four participants (37 females, 7 males) were in the intervention group and 38 participants (30 females, 8 males) were in the control group. The pain scores were 4.75 (SD 2.32) on a 10-point scale for the intervention group and 5.24 (SD 2.14) for the control group before the programme. There was a slight reduction in the pain score of the intervention group. No significant differences were found in the same-group and between-group comparisons for the baseline and postintervention assessments. The depression, anxiety, and stress scores for the intervention group before the programme were 11.18 (SD 6.18), 9.64 (SD 7.05), and 12.91 (SD 7.70), respectively. A significant reduction in negative emotions was found in the intervention group (P<0.05). The aromatherapy programme can be an effective tool to reduce pain, depression, anxiety, and stress levels among community-dwelling older adults.
- Published
- 2014