Effectiveness of aromatherapy with inhaled lavender essential oil and breathing exercises on ECT-related anxiety in depressed patients.

Background and aims Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is considered a safe, effective, and significant treatment in patients suffering from a major depressive disorder. Anxiety caused by this invasive treatment may impose several side effects on patients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of aromatherapy with inhaled lavender essential oil and breathing exercises on ECT-related anxiety in depressed patients. Methods In this randomized controlled clinical trial, 90 depressed patients were selected and divided into three groups: aromatherapy, breathing exercise, and routine care using a random allocation method. Before undergoing ECT, the aromatherapy group was exposed to the inhaled lavender essential oil (n = 30), the breathing exercise group performed the breathing exercises (n = 30), and the routine care group received routine care (n = 30). Before (20 min) and after the intervention (30 min later), patients' anxiety was assessed using Beck Anxiety Inventory. Results After the intervention, the results revealed that anxiety score changes were statistically significant among the three groups (p < 0.001). In addition, it was found that the patients' mean anxiety scores significantly decreased in the aromatherapy and breathing exercise groups compared to with the pre-intervention scores (p < 0.001). Conclusion Aromatherapy with inhaled lavender essential oil and breathing exercises can be considered by clinical nurses as simple, applicable, and effective interventions to reduce ECT-related anxiety in depressed patients.

Effect of Psychoeducation Group Training Based on Problem-Solving Skills for Women Experiencing Bipolar Spouse Abuse.

Aim: Wives of patients with bipolar disorder as informal caregivers are at high risk for spouse abuse and need to learn coping strategies such as problem-solving skills to manage problematic situations. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the psychoeducation group training based on problem-solving skills for women experiencing bipolar spouse abuse. Methods: A randomized clinical trial design was used for this study. In intervention group, women experiencing bipolar spouse abuse participated in four problem-solving skills training sessions and women in two groups (intervention = 30 and control = 30) completed the Index of Spouse Abuse at baseline and after 2 months. Results: The results indicated that changes in abuse scores (physical, non-physical and total of Index of Spouse Abuse) after the intervention were significantly different among the two groups (p < 0.0001). Although abuse scores decreased in both the intervention and the control groups, but lower abuse scores in the intervention than control group were statistically significant. Conclusion: Our findings support that the problem-solving skills training intervention can help to decrease the women experience of bipolar spouse abuse.

The effectiveness of bright light exposure in shift-worker nurses: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Bright light exposure is as one of the non-pharmacological measures to sleep management in shift-worker. This study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of bright light exposure in shift-worker nurses. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis according to the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) statement and using existing literature in the following databases: Cochrane Library, Embase, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, to examine any eligible and relevant interventional (randomized controlled trial, experimental and quasi-experimental studies) which were published by December 31, 2018. The obtained documents were analyzed using Stata 14.1 and Cochrane Collaboration's RevMan 5.3. Five studies met eligibility criteria. Results from fixed-effect meta-analysis of the included studies revealed that the exposure could decrease the sleepiness levels, complaints related to shift-work, insomnia and increased the psychomotor error (95% confidence interval (CI): -0.87,-0.43, p=0.000, I2=98.6%), alertness and daytime sleep duration following night shifts (95% CI: 0.08,0.99, p=0.000, I2=92.7%). However, in the random effects model, none of them were statistically significant. Although the results of fixed-effect are in favor of beneficial effects of bright light exposure in shift-worker nurses, the random effects could not approve these findings. Maybe because of either large heterogeneity or insufficiency of the number of studies. Besides, because of the low number of studies, it was impossible to deal with high amount of heterogeneity using subgroup analysis or meta-regression. So the controversy on this topic continues to persist, which highlights the need for more well-designed randomized control trials with larger sample sizes in the future.

The effectiveness of familiar olfactory stimulation with lavender scent and glucose on the pain of blood sampling in term neonates: A randomized controlled clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE: Neonates are exposed to multiple painful invasive procedures. Pain management in neonates is an ethical and important task for nurses. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of familiar olfactory stimulation with lavender scent and glucose on the pain of blood sampling in term neonates. DESIGN: A randomized, single blind clinical trial. SETTING: Hashemi Nezhad Hospital (Mashhad, Iran). INTERVENTION: Before and during blood sampling, one group was exposed to the scent of lavender (n = 40), the second group received 2 ml of edible glucose 30 % (n = 40), two minutes before the blood sampling, and the third group received no specific intervention (n = 40). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Simultaneously with needle insertion, the Douleur Aigue du Nouveau-ne (DAN) scale was used to calculate the pain score. The duration of crying (in seconds) was measured from start to end (silence). RESULTS: The study participants' mean age was 5.49 ± 2.13 days; 60 % of them were girls, and 65.8 % had the gestational age of 38-39 weeks. The mean pain scores were 4.47 ± 1.81, 4.80 ± 1.92, and 5.97 ± 1.94 in the aromatherapy group, the glucose group, and the control group respectively (p < 0.001). No significant difference was recorded between the groups regarding the crying time (P = 0.12). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that use of aromatherapy with lavender and edible glucose as easy and applicable nursing care can reduce the pain of blood sampling in term neonates and can be considered as effective interventions in neonate pain management, although more research is recommended.

Effectiveness of the back school program on the low back pain and functional disability of Iranian nurse.

Low back pain (LBP) as a recurrent and costly health problem and one of the leading causes of disability, is common in nurses. It can have adverse effects on the quality of life of nurses and quality of care of patients. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Back School program on the LBP and functional disability of Iranian nurses. A quasi-experimental methodological design was utilized for this study. Participants were nurses with back pain who participated in the Back School program workshop and completed a self-report visual analogue scales and Roland-Morris Disability questionnaire that measuring LBP and functional disability. Data were analyzed descriptively and comparisons in LBP and functional disability made between groups with t-test for pre-intervention and analysis of covariance for after intervention. Sixty-four participants (16 males, 48 females) completed this survey. The study participants' mean age was 38.9 ± 8.1 years in intervention group and 38.1 ± 8.2 in control group. There were no significant differences in terms of pain (P = 0.575) and disability scores (P = 0.844) before intervention. Although, the intervention led to a decrease in the functional ability and LBP scores of the nurses (P<0.001) in the intervention group compared with that in the control group. Overall, Back School program as an educational strategy can reduce the LBP and functional disability in nurses. This program can be suitable for preventing of pain and functional disability among nurses working in hospital settings.

The effect of teacher's presence at children's bedside on the anxiety of mothers with hospitalized children: A randomized clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: The hospitalization of a child is a stressful experience for parents, especially mothers. Not having access to the teacher and not being able to continue school studies within the hospital by hospitalized children is a common reason for anxiety in them and their parents. The current study aimed to determine the effect of teacher's presence at children's bedside on the anxiety of mothers with hospitalized children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In a randomized clinical trial, a total of 50 mothers with children admitted to pediatric ward of one teaching hospital in Mashhad, Iran, were randomly allocated to two equal groups. In the intervention group, the teacher was present at children's bedside for daily education and practices, but the control group received standard routine care. The mothers' level of anxiety was evaluated using the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, which was completed at both admission and prior to child's discharge. Data were analyzed using SPSS. RESULTS: The results showed that before intervention, the means and standard deviations of the mothers' trait anxiety scores in the experimental and control groups were not significantly different (P = 0.164). However, after intervention, the mothers' mean trait anxiety scores decreased significantly in the intervention group compared to the control group (P < 0.001) and compared to the pre-intervention phase (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: It seems that the presence of a teacher at children's bedside is an easy and effective strategy to reduce anxiety in mothers regarding their children hospitalization.