PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to identify the effect of aroma inhalation on stress responses (physical symptoms, levels of anxiety, perceived stresses)of nursing students. METHOD: This study was a quasi-experimental research using anon-equivalent pre-post design and was conducted from June 1 to June 5, 2002. The subjects consisted of 77 junior nursing students who were divided into 39 experimental group members and 38 control group members. A pretest and Post-test were conducted to measure body symptoms, the level of anxiety, and the level of perceived stress. In the experimental group, aromas were given using an aroma lamp, lavender, peppermint, rosemary and Clary-Sage. In the control group, the treatment was not administered. RESULT: As a result of administering aroma inhalation to nursing students, their physical symptoms decreased, their anxiety scores were low, and their perceived stress scores were low, showing that aroma inhalation could be a very effective stress management method. CONCLUSION: Nursing educators should play an important role in contributing to college students' physical and psychological health by helping enhance their recognition of stress management and effectively relieving their stress using essential oils.
*Aromatherapy ; Female ; Humans ; Stress, Psychological/*therapy ; Students, Nursing/*psychology

PURPOSE: This study was done to examine the effects of Aroma inhalation therapy on test anxiety, stress and serum cortisol in nursing students. METHODS: The study design was a pre posttest randomized design with a pre-survey, a 5-day experimental treatment (2012.11.17-21) and a post survey. Participants were 65 students - 31 in the aromatic inhalation group and 34 in the control group. The pre-survey included general demographic characteristics and test anxiety, stress and serum cortisol levels for all students. The experimental group received the aromatic inhalation using aroma oil (mixed Maychang, lavender, rosewood essence - ratio of 3:5:2). RESULTS: The experimental group treated with aromatic inhalation scored significantly lower for test anxiety (t=-2.330 p=.023), physical stress (t=-2.910 p=.005) and psychological stress (t=-3.285 p=.002) compared to the control group. However, there were no differences in serum cortisol levels (t=0.228 p=.820). CONCLUSION: Results indicate that Aromatic inhalation, using maychang, lavender and rosewood essential oils, contributes significantly to reducing anxiety and stress among nursing students, and can therefore be an effective intervention for anxiety and stress.
Anxiety* ; Aromatherapy ; Humans ; Hydrocortisone* ; Inhalation* ; Lavandula ; Nursing* ; Oils, Volatile ; Respiratory Therapy ; Stress, Psychological ; Students, Nursing*

PURPOSE: Anger management is a very important issue for nursing education. However, there is a lack of research identifying related factors. This study examined the mediating effects of social support and a grateful disposition on the relationship between life stress and anger in nursing students. METHODS: The participants were 172 nursing students recruited from two universities in cities in South Korea. Baron and Kenny's regression method and the Sobel test were used to analyze the mediating effects of social support and a grateful disposition on the association between life stress and anger. RESULTS: There were significant correlations between life stress, social support, a grateful disposition, and anger. In addition, social support and a grateful disposition exerted full mediating effects on the relationship between life stress and anger. CONCLUSION: Based on this study's results, enhancing social support and grateful disposition could help nursing students who experience anger resulting from life stress to manage their anger effectively. This finding suggests that, as specific strategies for anger management, nursing educators should encourage nursing students to use sources of social support and to engage in various gratitude activities.
Anger Management Therapy ; Anger* ; Education, Nursing ; Humans ; Korea ; Methods ; Negotiating* ; Nursing* ; Protective Factors ; Stress, Psychological* ; Students, Nursing*

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to construct an acceptance-commitment therapy (ACT)-based stress management program for inpatients with schizophrenia and to examine its effects on hospitalization stress, self-efficacy, and psychological well-being. METHODS: A non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest design was used. Participants were 44 inpatients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. The experimental group (n=22) received the ACT-based stress management program twice a week for a total of four weeks. The control group (n=22) received the usual care from their primary health care providers. The study was carried out from August 7 to September 1, 2017, and data were analyzed using IBM SPSS/WIN 22.0 with a Chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, and an independent t-test. RESULTS: The experimental group showed a significant decrease in hospitalization stress (t=5.09, p < .001) and an increase in self-efficacy (t=2.44, p=.019). However, there was no significant difference in psychological well-being between the two groups (t=0.13, p=.894). CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that the ACT-based stress management program can be used as an effective mental health nursing intervention for hospitalization stress and self-efficacy for inpatients with schizophrenia.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy ; Diagnosis ; Hospitalization* ; Humans ; Inpatients* ; Primary Health Care ; Psychiatric Nursing ; Schizophrenia* ; Self Efficacy ; Stress, Psychological

PURPOSE: This study was done to compare the effects of abdominal aroma massage and meridian massage on constipation and stress in college women with functional constipation. METHODS: The participants were 38 college women, 18 were in the aroma group and 20 in the meridian group. The aroma massage was given using aroma oil which was a mixture of lemon, lavender, rosemary, and cyprus. The meridian massage was given at 9 accupoints which influence intestinal functions. The treatment was given 5 days a week for 4 weeks. A constipation severity score, weekly defecation frequency, and a stress response score were measured before and every week of 4 weeks of the experiment. RESULTS: While there was no significant difference between two groups, there was a significant difference within the groups in the constipation severity (aroma group: 1st week, meridian group: except 4th week), defecation frequency (aroma group: 3rd week, meridian group: 2nd and 3rd week), and stress (aroma group: all weeks, meridian group: except 4th week) after different duration of experiment. CONCLUSION: Based on these results, both abdominal massages relieved constipation and stress. Resorting to either types of massage will contribute to the reduction of use of stool softeners, suppositories, or enemas.
Abdomen ; *Acupressure ; Acupuncture Points ; Adult ; *Aromatherapy ; Constipation/nursing/*therapy ; Female ; Humans ; *Massage ; Questionnaires ; Stress, Psychological/nursing/*therapy ; Students/*psychology ; Young Adult

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of aromatherapy on blood pressure and stress responses of clients with essential hypertension. METHOD: There were fifty-two subjects divided into an essential oil group, placebo group, and control group by random assignment. The application of aromatherapy was the inhalation method of blending oils with lavender, ylangylang, and bergamot once daily for 4 weeks. To evaluate the effects of aromatherapy, blood pressure and pulse were measured two times a week and serum cortisol levels, catecholamine levels, subjective stress, and state anxiety were measured before and after treatment in the three groups. Data was analyzed by repeated measures of ANOVA, one-way ANOVA, and chi-square-test using the SPSS 10.0 program. RESULTS: The blood pressure, pulse, subjective stress, state anxiety, and serum cortisol levels among the three groups were significantly statistically different. The differences of catecholamine among the three groups were not significant statistically. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that the inhalation method using essential oils can be considered an effective nursing intervention that reduces psychological stress responses and serum cortisol levels, as well as the blood pressure of clients with essential hypertension.
Adult ; Aged ; *Aromatherapy ; Biological Markers/blood ; Blood Pressure ; Cananga ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension/nursing/*therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Oils, Volatile/*therapeutic use ; Plant Oils/therapeutic use ; Stress, Psychological/*therapy

Increasingly nursing science is embracing the concepts and methodology derived from psycho-neuroimmunology. It has been previously shown that stress increases and immune function declines in students undergoing examinations. To date, however, no many studies have been reported on stress levels, immune function and interventions in Korean students undergoing their first clinical nursing rotation. It was proposed that nursing students during their first clinical rotation experience increase in stress because of the novelty of the situation and their lack of clinical knowledge. It was also hypothesized that biofeedback and progressive relaxation, methods of self-regulation of involuntary autonomic nervous system responses, would reduce the stress response. The purpose of this study is to test the effectiveness of progressive muscle laxation using biofeedback. The effectiveness of the experimental methods was tested by measuring the degree of symptoms of stress (SOS) and the values of ephinephrine, pulse rate, blood pressure and natural killer cells. The subjects of this study were thirty nursing students divided into two groups: experimental group was progressive muscle relaxation group using biofeedback and control group. This study was conducted for 8 weeks of clinical practice. Biofeedback training was done by software developed by J&J company (1-410 form for progressive muscle training). Progressive muscle relaxation training according to Jacobson's Theory was done by messaged word from biofeedback. The data was analyzed using Chronbach' alpha and t-test of the SPSS program and the significance level of statistics was 5%. The results of the study were: 1) The progressive muscle relaxation training using biofeedback was effective for the reduction of symptoms of stress (t=-4.248, p<.001) under clinical practice stress conditions. 2) The progressive muscle relaxation training using biofeedback was not effective for the values of epinephrine (t=-1.294, p=0.206). 3) The progressive muscle relaxation training using biofeedback was effective for the reduction of systolic blood pressure (t=-2.757, p=0.01). 4) The progressive muscle relaxation training using biofeedback was effective for the reduction of diastolic blood pressure (p=-2.032, p=0.05). 5) The progressive muscle relaxation training using biofeedback was not effective for the reduction of pulse rate(t=-0.15, p=0.988). 6) The progressive muscle relaxation training using biofeedback was effective for the maintenance of natural killer cells (t=2.381, p=02). The first clinical rotation for student nurses is a stressful experience as seen by the rise in the SOS in the control group. Biofeedback using progressive muscle relaxation were effective in preventing the rise of symptoms of stress and the blood pressure means when comparing the pre to post clinical experience. The mean natural killer cell count was depressed in the control group but not significantly different in the experimental groups. It is proposed here that stress via the hypothalamic - pituitary - adrenal axis suppressed the NK cell count whereas the relaxation methods prevented the rise in stress and the resulting immune depression. We recommend relaxation techniques using biofeedback as a health promotion technique to reduce psychological stress. In summary, the progressive muscle relaxation training using biofeedback was effective for the reduction of symptoms of stress under clinical practice stress conditions.
Autonomic Nervous System ; Axis, Cervical Vertebra ; Biofeedback, Psychology* ; Blood Pressure ; Depression ; Epinephrine ; Health Promotion ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Killer Cells, Natural* ; Muscle Relaxation* ; Nursing* ; Relaxation ; Relaxation Therapy ; Stress, Psychological ; Students, Nursing*