Pornsiri Muangnil. Effect of aroma oil massage on depression state in older adults . Master's Degree(Mental Health and Psychiatric Nursing). Mahidol University. : Mahidol University, 2006.
Effect of aroma oil massage on depression state in older adults
Abstract:
This study employed a quasi-experimental design that focused on the effects of
aroma oil massage on depression state in older adults. The subjects of the study were
older women 60-95 years old, who live in Bann Thumapakorn Wat Maung,
Nakhonratchasima province, Thailand. The 60 older women were chosen by
purposive selection according to the inclusion criteria. They were randomly assigned
to an experimental group and a control group, each with 30 subjects. The
experimental group received aroma oil massage for 45 minutes per session, once a
week for 4 weeks. The control group received routine care provided by Baan
Thumapakorn Wat Maung. The data collection instruments consisted of: 1)
demographic data about the older women, 2) Thai Mental State Exam (TMSE), 3)
Thai Depression Inventory (TDI), and 4) the aroma oil massage. The data were
analyzed using descriptive statistics, Chi-square, and t-test.
The findings of this study revealed that, after the aroma oil massage: 1) In the
first week, the posttest depression mean scores of the experimental group were
significantly lower than the pretest scores (p<0.001), 2) In the fourth week, the posttest
depression mean scores of the experimental group were significantly lower than the
pretest scores (p<0.001), and 3) the experimental group had statistically significantly
lower depression mean scores than the control group both in the first and fourth week
(p<0.001).
These results show that aroma oil massage can reduce depression score
immediately after intervention and when given massage every week until four weeks,
when depression score in the fourth week was lower than first week after massage.
Findings revealed that aroma oil massage not only had an immediate effect but also
had an accumulative effect on depression score. Aroma oil massage is a way to
enhance the nurse-patient therapeutic relationship. It offers a strategy to fulfil the
goals of human touch and holistic nursing care. A psychiatric nurse could apply
aroma oil massage as a form of therapeutic relations to reduce depression in elderly
persons, and do it regularly for the optimum benefit