THE EFFECT OF AROMATHERAPY OF ORANGE ESSENTIAL OIL ON ANXIETY IN HOSPITALIZED CHILDREN

Anxiety due to hospitalization and treatment can negatively affect children's
recovery. Reducing children's anxiety also makes the experience of hospitalization pleasant for children
and their parents, which is one of the important activities of nursing. The aim of this study was to
determine the effect of aromatherapy of orange essential oil on anxiety in hospitalized children.
Materials & Methods: In this clinical trial, 70 children admitted to Valiasr Hospital in Birjand were
selected by convenience sampling method and then randomly assigned to two groups of orange essential
oil and routine care. In the intervention group, aromatherapy was performed for 3 days (three times a
day). At the beginning and end of the intervention, the Spielberger situational-characteristic anxiety
questionnaire for children was completed. Data analysis was performed using SPSS software version 16
and Chi-square, Mann-Whitney, paired t-test, Wilcoxon and t-test were used. A p-value of less than 0.05
was considered statistically significant.
Results: The results of paired t-test showed that in the control group, the mean score of overt and covert
anxiety before and after the intervention was not significantly different (p> 0.05). However, the results
of the Wilcoxon test showed that in the intervention group, the mean score of overt and covert anxiety
before and after the intervention was significantly different (p <0.05) and the scores after the intervention
were significantly different from the scores before the intervention.
Conclusion: The results showed the positive effect of inhaled aromatherapy of orange essential oil on
reducing the anxiety of hospitalized children, so aromatherapy is suggested as a new and easy option to
reduce the anxiety in hospitalized children