Aromatherapy and Music Impact on Nurses' Stress at Work

The purpose of the Doctor of Nursing Practice research project is to determine if nurses who receive chamomile-lavender aromatherapy and listen to music during a 20-minute break once per shift for 8 weeks, will experience report decreased work stress (measured by self-reported symptoms of anxiety) compared to before the aromatherapy and music intervention during breaks.

The investigators know nurses are at high risk for stress and anxiety. Despite the current processes and policies in place at Northwestern Memorial Hospital that support nurses to take breaks during their shifts, nurses continue to share feeling stressed and anxious. Included in this Doctor of Nursing Practice research project is an evidence synthesis of fourteen studies supporting the idea that combining aromatherapy and music can reduce anxiety in both adults and children.

The evidence-based intervention being studied is administering lavender-chamomile essential oil aromatherapy and listening to music during 20-minute non-meal breaks once a shift for 8 weeks. Participants will go to a quiet breakroom, pour 3 drops of lavender-chamomile essential oil onto a non-adhesive 2X2 gauze pad, and place the pad about 20 centimeters from their noses while also listening to their preferred calming music through their personal phones and wireless earbuds or headphones for twenty minutes.