The Effect of Concomitant Exercise and Inhalation of Lavender Fragrance On Surgical Technologists’ Fatigue Severity

Stressfull innate of the operating room, unpredictable types of activities, and prolonged standing during surgeries cause chronic fatigue in surgical technologists, resulting in reduced quality of care. It is essential, therefore, to provide especialized methods to reduce the surgical technologists’ fatigue severity.. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of concomitant exercise and inhalation of lavender fragrance on surgical technologists’ fatigue severity.

Ninety seven surgical technologists were recruited  in this clinical trial study, working in the operating rooms of Tabriz educational hospitals. They were randomly divided into three groups (Exercise, Lavender & Control) after fulfilling informed consent ,. The instruments for data collection included demographic information form as well as a multidimensional fatigue inventory questionnaire. In the experimental groups, concomitant exercise training and Lavender inhalation were both used for a period of six weeks while no intervention was given to participants in the control group. Statistical analyses were carried out using SPSS 20 as  well as  ANOVA and repeated measurement tests.

No significant difference was observed between Exercise, Lavender, and Control groups regarding demographic characteristics (P>0.05). The mean score of fatigue between exercise and control groups and between Lavender and control groups showed a significant decrease (P<0.05). However, the results showed no significant difference statistically between the exercise and Lavender groups (P>0.05).

The concomitant exercise and Lavender fragrance in the operating room positively affect and reduce the fatigue severity in surgical technologists. Planning to implement similar interventions in the operating room is recommended.