The effect of aromatherapy during urodynamic testing on patients anxiety and cortisol levels: A randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: During urodynamic testing (UT), patients may experience emotions such as embarrassment, discomfort, irritability, and tension, which can cause anxiety. Aromatherapy is a complementary and alternative treatment that may be employed in clinical settings to alleviate patients' anxiety before invasive procedures. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of aromatherapy on patients' anxiety and cortisol levels during UT. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The sample of this single-center, prospective, two-armed, randomized controlled clinical study consisted of 98 patients undergoing UT. Patients were randomly assigned to the intervention group (n = 49) and the control group (n = 49). The anxiety level was assessed using the state-trait anxiety inventory (STAI), and measured with physiological responses to anxiety, such as changes in systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2), and cortisol levels, pre and post-UT. Aromatherapy was applied to the intervention group starting 5 min before UT and continuing throughout the testing. The control group received routine treatment and care. Data were analyzed using Pearson's χ2, dependent samples t-tests, and independent samples t-tests. RESULTS: In the study, post-UT anxiety in the intervention group was significantly lower than in the control group (p < 0.001), while SpO2 was higher (p = 0.021). In the study group, post-UT anxiety (p < 0.001), HR (p = 0.000), and cortisol levels (p = 0.005) decreased compared to pre-UT, whereas in the control group, anxiety (p < 0.001) and HR (p = 0.000) decreased, and SBP (p = 0.010) and RR (p = 0.004) increased. CONCLUSIONS: Aromatherapy during UT positively influenced both the psychological and physiological responses to anxiety.

The Effect of Distance Reiki on State Test Anxiety and Test Performance: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Nursing Students.

BACKGROUND: This randomized controlled, pretest-post-test intervention study examined the effect of distance reiki on state test anxiety and test performance. METHOD: First-year nursing students (n = 71) were randomized into two groups. One week before the examination, intervention group participants performed reiki remotely for 20 minutes for 4 consecutive days, and control group participants received no intervention. RESULTS: The intervention group had lower posttest cognitive and psychosocial subscale scores than pretest scores (p > .05). The control group had a significantly higher mean posttest physiological subscale score than pretest score (p < .05). Final grade point averages were not significantly different between the intervention and control groups (p > .05). One quarter of the intervention group participants noted reiki reduced their stress and helped them perform better on the examination. CONCLUSION: Reiki is a safe and easy-to-practice method to help students cope with test anxiety. [J Nurs Educ. 2024;63(5):298-303.].

Health Problems and Reasons for Stress of Intensive Care Nurses During COVID-19.

AIM: This study aimed to examine health problems and related reasons for stress including physiological, psychological, and patientcare-related stressors among intensive care unit (ICU) nurses during COVID-19 in Turkey. METHOD: This study was designed as a cross-sectional study. Data were collected between June and July 2020 and from 1140 ICU nurses who were actively working in the pandemic process from 65 provinces in Turkey. An online questionnaire was used consisting of questions regarding nurses' health problems, reasons for psychological, physiological, and patient care-related stress during the pandemic. Descriptive data were presented in mean, median, or number and percentage. RESULTS: Only 15.6% of ICU nurses experienced health problems. Nurses had psychological symptoms such as anxiety, insomnia, and physiological symptoms such as respiratory, musculoskeletal symptoms. The majority of nurses experienced the following psychological stressors: fear of being a COVID-19 carrier and infecting loved ones, and getting sick with COVID-19. Reasons for physiological stress were mostly due to working with personal protective equipment (PPE), skipping toilet breaks, and inadequate hydration. Reasons for patient care-related stress included excessive sweating in PPE, fogging of goggles, and inability to select a venipuncture site with double gloves. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study indicate that almost one-fifth of ICU nurses experience various health problems although most of them experience intense psychological, physiological, and patient care-related stress.