An interventional study of Aromatherapy in Nausea, Stress and Anxiety, sponsored by Pace University. Not yet recruiting. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2024-09-19.
Sponsored by Pace University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Basic science
The aim of this study is to investigate the use of lavender and citrus inhalation aromatherapy on anxiety, test anxiety and sleep quality in Pace University sophomore, junior and senior nursing majors. Anxiety, particularly test anxiety, is a ubiquitous problem among nursing students. Test anxiety is a type of state anxiety experienced as concern or fear before, during, or following a test or performance assessment. While some anxiety may enhance the performance of a student, test anxiety often negatively effects performance. Although test anxiety can be incapacitating to any student, in nursing students it can not only have a negative impact on learning, it is a major cause for under-achievement and prevents some students from reaching their academic potential since they are enrolled in a high-stakes program.
Treatment for test anxiety includes counseling, desensitization therapy, relaxation therapies, and aromatherapy. Aromatherapy with its focus on the therapeutic use of plant oils has the ability to decrease anxiety in humans through the use of natural oils particularly Lavandula angustifolia (lavender) without the potential for adverse reactions or side effects of conventional anxiolytic drugs.
Research on the efficacy of aromatherapy on test anxiety in college and nursing students shows mixed results. A variety of designs and essential oil scents, either mixed or single, were used with subjects, e.g., lavender, rosemary, peppermint, lemon and the vehicles used to administer the oils, e.g., room diffused inhalation, non-absorbent cloth infused lavender for the aromatherapy vary.
However, studies using lavender essential oil to reduce anxiety in college students, nursing students, and patients, demonstrated that lavender overall acted as an effective anxiolytic in reducing the stress of test taking, especially with lower levels of anxiety. Thus lavender essential oil could benefit nursing students in reducing test anxiety, and has great potential in benefiting all students in test and anxiety reduction, provided the person is not allergic to the oil. There is support for the notion that aromatherapy is a safe intervention, in a systematic review on the anxiolytic effects of aromatherapy in people with anxiety symptoms, no participants reported experiencing any adverse effects., The use of lavender also appears to help sleep without the adverse effects of commonly used drugs. The anxiolytic effects of the oil might reduce unhealthy behaviors that students engage in, e.g. alcohol and drug use/overuse, to reduce stress and relax, and positively affect sleep. In a 2015-2016 study of Pace nursing students, the results showed improvement in sleep and test anxiety, although the sample was small.
The study will identify subjects test anxiety and poor sleep quality and reduction in anxiety prior to/ during performance assessments as a result of the anxiolytic properties of the lavender essential oil inhaler we will provide them with and potentially improvement in quality of sleep. Studies using lavender essential oil to reduce anxiety in college students, and patients, demonstrated that lavender overall acted as an effective anxiolytic in reducing the stress of test taking, especially with lower levels of anxiety. Thus lavender essential oil could benefit nursing students in reducing test anxiety, and has great potential in benefiting all students in test and anxiety reduction, provided the person is not allergic to the oil. The use of lavender also appears to help sleep without the adverse effects of commonly used drugs Further, the anxiolytic effects of the oil might reduce unhealthy behaviors that students engage in, e.g. alcohol and drug use/overuse, to reduce stress and relax, and positively affect sleep.
822 studies on the registry are indexed under Nausea; 104 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 100 is below the median of 115 across 703 interventional studies indexed under Nausea.
Browse Nausea studies →Pace University is the lead sponsor of 4 studies on the registry; 3 are open to participants now.
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Exclusion Criteria:
a sham unscented aromatherapy patch will be applied to subjects clothing, 4-6 inches below the neck on the thorax
Other: Aromatherapy
A combined scents Citrus Lavendar infused aromatherapy patch will be applied to subjects clothing, 4-6 inches below the neck on the thorax
Other: Aromatherapy
A single scent Lavander aromatherapy patch will be applied 4-6 inches below nose on front of thorax on subjects clothing
Other: Aromatherapy
Aromatherapy and placebo patches will be used
Anxiety
Number of participants with anxiety
Time frame: From date of enrollment to up to 52 weeks
Test anxiety
Number of participants with test anxiety prior to examinations
Time frame: From date of enrollment to up to 52 weeks
Perceived stress
Number of participants who perceive stress before taking an examination
Time frame: From date of enrollment to up to 52 weeks
nausea or queasiness
Number of participants who have nausea and/or queasiness prior to examinations
Time frame: From date of enrollment to up to 52 weeks
Exam grade
Number of participants who take a specific course examination
Time frame: From date of enrollment to up to 52 weeks
Grade point average (GPA)
Numerical indicator of cumulative grade success in the nursing program.
Time frame: From date of enrollment to up to 52 weeks
No study locations are listed for this record.
Plan to share: No — I had not really considered it
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