Effectiveness of Aromatherapy on Menstrual Distress among Adolescent Girls

Aim: To determine the effectiveness of Aromatherapy on menstrual distress among young adolescent girls with primary dysmenorrhea.

Study Design: Quantitative approach with Pre-experimental research design.

Place and Duration of Study: Saveetha College of Nursing, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Chennai, from December 2019 to February 2020.

Methodology: Sixty adolescent girls were selected for the study by using a convenience sampling technique. The participants who participated in the study were adolescent girls with 17 - 19 years of age, have regular menstrual cycle, having primary dysmenorrhea, and willing to participate in the study. Demographic variables and clinical variables were collected by using structured questionnaire. Followed by pre-test assessment on primary dysmenorrhea symptom was assessed on 5th day of menstruation by primary dysmenorrhea symptoms questionnaire. Aromatherapy was administered by inhalation method in alternate days from 7th day of menstrual cycle for two consecutive menstrual cycles. Post test was conducted at the end of intervention on the first day of menstrual cycle using the same tool. The data were tabulated and analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS statistical package.

Results: The result of the study shows that in the pre-test, 54(90%) had moderate menstrual distress and 6(10%) had severe menstrual distress. Whereas in the post test, almost all 60(100%) had mild menstrual distress. pre-test and post-test mean score of menstrual distress was 62.83±2.93 and 33.03± 2.48. Which was compared by paired ‘t’ test revealed that the post-test mean value is lower than the pre-test mean value and found statistically significant at the level of p<0.001

Conclusion: The finding of the present study concludes that aromatherapy using lavender oil is significantly effective in reducing the menstrual distress without side effects among adolescent girls with primary dysmenorrhea and also reduces the risk pharmacological intervention.