Clinical Trial Details
— Status: Completed
Administrative data
NCT number |
NCT03460626 |
Other study ID # |
IAU-ATCT |
Secondary ID |
|
Status |
Completed |
Phase |
N/A
|
First received |
|
Last updated |
|
Start date |
February 2, 2018 |
Est. completion date |
April 5, 2018 |
Study information
Verified date |
September 2021 |
Source |
Universiti Sains Malaysia |
Contact |
n/a |
Is FDA regulated |
No |
Health authority |
|
Study type |
Interventional
|
Clinical Trial Summary
Stress affects the health and is prevalent among medicine and pharmacy students. A number of
factors such as busy schedules, course load and lack of recreational time during semesters as
well as exams, have been reported to be associated with stress. Study reports that the use of
aroma oils especially those with relaxant properties can alleviate the level of stress. This
study aims to investigate the effects of aroma oils in stress during exams in pharmacy
students.
Description:
Stress is a disorder that affects human feelings through disturbance in behavior, thinking
and mood. The mood disturbances further leads to mental, physical and emotional problems
which affects the learning as well as thinking capabilities of individuals.Work load i.e.
preparing for exams along with acquisition of knowledge, skills and attitudes have been
reported as more stressful to cope up with, during university life of medical students. Exam
load is reported as a major stressor and a number of studies have reported a suffering of 30%
medical students due to exam stress. whereas some studies have reported a high stress level
in 80% of college students during exams. No significant difference is observed for gender
with regard to level of stress during exams. Besides course loads, exams, quizzes and busy
schedule, academic competition among students for higher grades also promotes stress. This
academic competition in students may sometimes be unavoidable. Alternative treatment namely
aromatherapy, hydrotherapy and homeopathy are employed to reduce stress.
Aromatherapy is one of the alternative treatments in which oils extracted from natural
sources such as flowers, petals and bark of plants are used to enhance the physical and
psychological conditions of individuals. Various naturally extracted aromatic essences are
applied in order to balance cognitive functions and memory retention. The aromatic
essences/oils used in aromatherapy such as lavender oil, rosemary oil, jasmine oil,
peppermint oil etc. are believed to stimulate cognitive function and are used for purposes of
pain relieving, mood enhancement. Among these essences, lavender oil has been applied
predominantly in oral administration, aromatherapy as well as massage therapy in many
clinical studies exhibiting positive outcomes. Lavender oil reduces stress and produce
relaxation via limbic system, particularly the amygdala and hippocampus.
A comparative study in 36 volunteers showed a reduced stress level in group using lavender
oil as aromatherapy as compared to placebo group. Another study at Hong Kong University
revealed the fact that aromatherapy may be utilized as an effective tool in order to
alleviate pain, reduce depression and level of stress in older adults. A study in Iran among
students, showed reduction in test-related anxiety with the use of Polianthes tuberosa
essential oils. Similar study in students of Florida Atlantic University observed the vital
effects of aroma oils and recommended the use of rosemary and lavender oil during exam for
reducing stress level. In addition, lavender oil as stress reducer and leading towards
relaxation during exam stress has been reported. Lavender oil as a cream along with a
foot-bath, may be used in pregnant as well as non-pregnant females even, in order to reduce
stress and anxiety. Based on aforementioned results, lavender oil may be effectively used to
reduce the level of stress, produced due to any factor. However, none of the studies have
reported the use of lavender oil in pharmacy students particularly during exams.
This study is aimed to target Pharmacy students at Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University,
Dammam, Saudi Arabia in order to evaluate the effect of aromatherapy i.e. lavender oil in
stress among students during exams.