The effect of aromatherapy and hand massage on pain and stress levels before arterio-venous fistulal canulation

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of aromatherapy and hand massage by clinical, randomized and experimental way before arteriovenous fistula cannulation on pain and stress levels in patients. The research was carried out at two hemodialysis centers in Sakarya between January1-May 31 2019. The sample of the study consisted of 159 patients (54 F, 105 M). Patients were allocated according to demographic characteristics and pre-test findings; and were randomly assigned aromatherapy, hand massage and control groups. The data of the study was collected through "Patient Identification Form", "VAS" and "Hemodialysis Stressor Scale (HSS)". Data was evaluated by SPSS (Statistical Package Program for Social Sciences) 20.0 programme using chi square, Student t test, One way ANOVA, Paired t test and Repeated Measures ANOVA. Aromatherapy (n:53) and hand massage (n:53) treatments were applied by three times to patients in the experimental groups. The patients in the control group (n:53) were not administered any clinical practice. Data collection tools,were administered 6 times totally (before and after of each interventions). As a result of study it is determined that; patients who were administered aromatherapy before arterio-venous fistula (AVF) cannulation, their pain and levels were lower than control group's. Likewise, compared to control group, it is stated that patients who were administered hand massage; VAS and HSS values were lower and the difference between the groups was highly significant (p<0.001). Also, the effectiveness of the initiatives was found to increase as the applications progress. When compared aromatherapy and hand massage groups, it is determined that AVF cannulation had similar effect on pain relief; hand massage was more effective in reducing hemodialysis stress but the difference between the groups were not significant statistically. According to this result, it is recommended to use aromatherapy and/or hand massage by hemodialysis nurses before AVF cannulation. Key words:Aromatherapy, Hand massage, Hemodialysis, Pain, Stress