The Effect of Aromatherapy on Level of Exam Anxiety Among Nursing Students in Alborz University of Medical Sciences

Background: Exam anxiety and reduce of that, is one of the problems of educational systems. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of aromatherapy on level of exam anxiety among nursing students in Alborz University of Medical Sciences. Methods: This is a triple blind clinical trial on 91 nursing students of Alborz University of Medical Sciences which have been sampled simply and randomized divided into group A and group B. Vital signs and Spielberg state–trait anxiety inventory were measured and recorded at baseline and 5 minutes after intervention and after exam .Then, the students were asked to place the bottle of aroma (lavender or sterile water) at a distance of 5 cm of nose and inhale for 10 minutes. Half of students were exposed to bottles that fulfilled by 5 drops of lavender essential oil and half of them were exposed to bottles that fulfilled by 5 drops of sterile water that labeled as A or B and was blind for subjects, researchers and analyzer. After analysis, content of each bottle was disclosed. Results: The results showed that there were meaningful difference between average exam anxiety, pulse and systolic blood pressure along the time (P=0.000, 0.023, 0.009). Conclusion: These results showed that although aromatherapy has been not meaningful statistical effective but can reduce the exam anxiety in nursing student along the time