The effect of aromatherapy and music concert applied to children with cancer on sleep

Aim: This study was conducted to examine the effects of aromatherapy and music listening on the sleep of children with cancer. Material and Method: The data of the study were collected between February 2021 and March 2022 in İnönü University Turgut Özal Medical Center, Oncology Hospital, pediatric oncology-hematology clinic. The study was completed with 105 patients included in aromatherapy (35), music concert (35), control (35) groups. Aromatherapy and music concert applications were applied for three consecutive days, once a day and for 20 minutes. Before and after the application, the 24-hour sleep of the children was evaluated with actigraphy. Descriptive statistics, Shapiro Wilk, Chi-square test statistic, One-Way ANOVA, Paired t test were used to evaluate the data. Results: Here was an increase in the sleep duration and sleep efficiency of the children in the aromatherapy group (p<0.05). In the music group, there was a significant difference in sleep efficiency and increased sleep efficiency (p<0.05). It was determined that the effects of aromatherapy and music concert interventions on sleep parameters after the procedure were different (p<0.05). Conclusion: It has been determined that aromatherapy and music concert applications have a healing effect on the sleep of children with cancer. It may be recommended to use aromatherapy or music concerts to support the sleep of children with cancer. Keywords: aromatherapy, children with cancer, music concert, sleep