The Immediate Effects of Lavender Aromatherapy Massage versus Massage in Work Stress, Burnout, and HRV Parameters: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Use of Topical Lavender Essential Oils to Reduce Perceptions of Burnout in Critical Care

BACKGROUND

Intensive care unit (ICU) health care workers face increased burnout. The purpose of this project was to evaluate burnout after implementing lavender essential oils.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the effectiveness of topical lavender essential oils in decreasing the instance of burnout in frontline ICU health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS

A predesign and postdesign evidence-based practice project was conducted to evaluate the implications of an 8-week topical lavender oil intervention on health care worker burnout. The Maslach Burnout Inventory, including subscales of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment, was administered before and after the intervention. Health care workers' compliance and satisfaction with the intervention were also measured.

RESULTS

Thirty-four ICU health care workers participated. Results showed significant improvements in the personal accomplishment subscale (mean [SD], 3.86 [0.81] before vs 4.14 [1.01] after intervention; P = .04). Improvements in depersonalization were not significant. Most participants were satisfied (n = 23 [67.6%]) and compliant (n = 23 [67.6%]) with the intervention.

CONCLUSION

The use of topical lavender essential oils is a cost-effective intervention that can be used to decrease components of burnout in frontline ICU workers.

Salvia officinalis L. Essential Oil: Characterization, Antioxidant Properties, and the Effects of Aromatherapy in Adult Patients

The purpose of this study is to reveal the chemical and biochemical characteristics and the potential aromatherapy applications of the essential oil (EO) of Salvia officinalis (common sage) within a hospital environment. The chemical composition was determined by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry and ATR-FTIR spectroscopy. Three types of sage EOs were included in this study: two commercial oils and one oil obtained by in-house hydrodistillation. Based on the findings, these EOs were included in different chemotypes. The first two samples were similar to the most common chemotype (α-thujone > camphor > 1,8-cineole > β-thujone), while the in-house sage EO revealed a high content of 1,8-cineole, borneol, α-thujone, similar to the Dalmatian type. The latter sample was selected to be evaluated for its antioxidant and medical effects, as borneol, a bicyclic monoterpene, is known as a substance with anesthetic and analgesic effects in traditional Asian medicine. The study suggests that the antioxidant capacity of the sage EO is modest (33.61% and 84.50% inhibition was determined by DPPH and ABTS assays, respectively), but also that the inhalation of sage EO with high borneol content by hospitalized patients could improve these patients’ satisfaction.