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. 2017 Jan 23;6(1):1-5.
doi: 10.1080/21556660.2016.1278545. eCollection 2017.

Evaluating the effects of diffused lavender in an adult day care center for patients with dementia in an effort to decrease behavioral issues: a pilot study

Robin Moorman Li  1 , Brian Gilbert  2 , Anna Orman  3 , Petra Aldridge  4 , Sue Leger-Krall  3 , Clare Anderson  2 , Juan Hincapie Castillo  5
Affiliations

Evaluating the effects of diffused lavender in an adult day care center for patients with dementia in an effort to decrease behavioral issues: a pilot study

Robin Moorman Li et al. J Drug Assess. .

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate the effects of diffused lavender on the frequency of behavioral issues [BIs], defined as a composite of restlessness/wandering [RW], agitation [AGT], anger [ANG], and anxiety [ANX] in an adult day care center. Secondary objectives evaluate systematic differences on the frequency of BIs between age cohorts, gender, and individual behaviors. Design: Pre-post quasi-experimental study. Setting: Private nonprofit adult day care center for patients with dementia. Participants: Elderly patients older than 65 years of age with a clinical diagnosis of dementia, who require daytime monitoring. Intervention: Lavender aromatherapy twice a day for 20 min during a two-month period during active clinic days. Measurements: Behavioral issues were recorded using the behavior/intervention monthly flow record during the pre- and post-intervention periods. Results: There was no significant difference on frequency of BIs between pre-intervention and post-intervention periods (p = .06). There was a significant difference between pre-intervention and post-intervention total number of AGT occurrences (129 vs. 25; p value < .01). There was no significant difference between age cohorts for computed difference of RW, ANG, and ANX issues. There was a significant difference between age cohorts for computed difference of AGT (p value = .04) as the 70-85 age cohort showed less agitation compared to the 85-100 age cohort. Conclusion: The use of diffused lavender twice daily has shown to reduce the frequency of agitation in elderly patients with dementia, especially in the 70-85 age cohort. Though diffused lavender did not show statistical differences in the frequency of other behaviors (restlessness/wander, anger, anxiety), the study population may have been too small to find a difference.

Keywords: Lavender; agitation; alternative therapies; aromatherapy; dementia; essential oils.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Behavior intervention monthly flow record. Reprinted with permission from MED-PASS, Inc. and Heaton Resources.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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