. Narges Hashemi; . Fatemeh Nazari; . Aref Faghih; . Mostafa Forughi
Volume 11, Issue 8 , September 2021, , Pages 1-6
Abstract
BACKGROUND: People experience extreme anxiety in testing situations, so it considers as apsychological condition and can actually impair learning and hurt test performance. People experiencesome ...
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BACKGROUND: People experience extreme anxiety in testing situations, so it considers as apsychological condition and can actually impair learning and hurt test performance. People experiencesome degree of stress and anxiety before and during examinations. This study aimed to investigatethe effect of blended aromatherapy using lavender and damask rose oils on the test anxiety ofnursing students.MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present study was a single‑blinded clinical trial study. Seventynursing students were selected and randomly assigned to two experimental and sham groups. Forthe experimental group, seven droplets of lavender, 10%, and three droplets of damask rose oil,10%, and for the sham group, ten droplets of sesame oil were poured on a nonabsorbent pad whichwas placed within a 20‑cm distance from the students’ noses on their chairs’ handles. The data werecollected by using a two‑part questionnaire including demographic information and State‑Trait AnxietyInventory 1, before, 15 min after the intervention, and immediately at the end of the test. Data wereanalyzed using descriptive (frequency, mean, and standard deviation) and inferential (independentt‑test, ANOVA with repeated measure, Fisher’s exact test, and least significant difference post hoctest) statistics.RESULTS: It was found that no significant difference between the two groups in terms of age, thenumber of credits, Semester Grade Point Average and, gender, place of residence and maritalstatus and the two groups were almost identical in regard of the above variables (P > 0.05). Stateanxiety mean scores of the experimental group were lower than the mean scores of the sham group,15 min after the intervention and at the end of the test, and the difference between the groups wasstatistically significant (P < 0.05).CONCLUSIONS: Blended aromatherapy is effective in improving the test anxiety of nursing students.Therefore, it can be used as a therapeutic approach to reduce test anxiety.
