The effect of aromatherapy application on sleep quality and anxiety levels in individuals diagnosed with cancer

This study was conducted to examine the effect of aromatherapy application on sleep quality and anxiety levels in individuals diagnosed with cancer. The research was conducted in a quasi-experimental design. The sample of the study consisted of 20 control group and 20 experimental group cancer patients who were hospitalized in the oncology service of Fırat University Hospital between January 2, 2022 and July 1, 2022, meeting the inclusion criteria and accepted to participate in the study. Personal Information Form, Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PUKI) questionnaire forms were used to collect the data. During the evaluation of the data, median values, standard deviation, arithmetic mean, minimum and maximum values, Shapiro Wilk, Kolmogorov Smirnov, t test, Mann Whitney U test, Anova test, Friedman test, Bonferroni test, Dunn test were used. The findings of the study were found to be 11.00±6.77 for the "BAI" control group, 14.30±5.96 for the experimental group, and 18.25±5.30 for the "PSQI" group, 20.25±4.79 for the experimental group. In the post-intervention test of the experimental group, the difference between the sub-dimensions of "PUKI" and the total score averages was found to be statistically significant compared to the control group (p <0.05). "BAI" mean scores within groups were found to be statistically significant (p<0.05), but mean scores between groups were not statistically significant (p>0.05). In line with the results of the research, it was determined that the sleep quality was poor in individuals diagnosed with cancer before the intervention, and the application of aromatherapy positively affected the sleep quality. It is recommended that aromatherapy be added to the holistic care plan in nursing practices.