AROMATHERAPY AND ANXIETY: INTEGRATIVE LITERATURE REVIEW

Abstract

This study aimed at investigating, in the national and international scientific literature, how aromatherapy is used as a therapeutic tool to reduce anxiety. It is a bibliographic study that adopted integrative literature review as a method. Studies published on databases Scielo, Medline and Cinahl from 2008 to 2012 were selected. A sample of 20 scientific articles was analyzed, and of these, 13 had an experimental and a quasi-experimental design whereas 07 were systematic or integrative reviews. The synthesis of knowledge showedthat aromatherapy represents a safe therapeutic practice although it is still underestimated in health care practices. The construction of evidence levels was not possible due to discrepancies in the studied populations, in research designs, the various essential oils used and the different methods for aromatherapy application. The knowledge gaps identified in these studies are related to the need to develop new forms to evaluate the effectiveness of this practice, including the therapist-patient relationship and the different communication forms that are intrinsic to aromatherapy.