The Effect of Inhaling the Aroma of Rosemary Essential Oil on the Pre-Hospital Emergency Personnel Stress and Anxiety: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Abstract

Background: The prevalence of stress and anxiety in pre-hospital emergency personnel is high. Objectives: The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of inhaling the Aroma of Rosemary essential oil on stress and anxiety of emergency medical personnel. Methods: In this quasi-experimental study, 8 pre-hospital emergency stations affiliated to Birjand University of Medical Sciences in Birjand city were randomly selected. Then, 4 stations were randomly allocated to the intervention group and 4 stations were assigned to the control group. In the next step, among personnel of each station about 8-10 participants were selected according to the inclusion criteria (39 participants in each group). Afterwards, these participants completed demographic and DASS-42 questionnaires (stress and anxiety subscales). Badges with 25% rosemary essential oil in the intervention group and badges impregnated with refined sweet almond oil were used in the control group for two hours in 3 shifts per week for one month. The anxiety and stress subscales of the DASS-42 questionnaire were completed by the participants one hour as well as 30 days after the last intervention in each group. In this study, chi-square, Mann-Whitney and Friedman tests were used. Results: The statistical analysis showed that the mean stress and anxiety scores in the two groups did not have significant differences before intervention (P > 0.05). One hour after the last intervention, statistical analysis showed that the mean of stress scores in the intervention group was significantly reduced compared to the control group (P < 0.05). One month after the intervention, no significant changes occurred in the mean scores of stress in intervention group (P > 0.05). In the case of anxiety, one hour after the intervention the mean scores in the intervention group were significantly decreased compared to the control group (P < 0.05). One months after the intervention, no significant changes occurred in the mean scores of anxiety in intervention group (P > 0.05). Conclusions: Aromatherapy with rosemary essential oil can have positive effects in reducing stress and anxiety in pre-hospital emergency personnel.