Aromatherapy and foot massage on happiness, sleep quality, and fatigue levels in patients with stroke: A randomized controlled trial

Stroke puts important economic and social burdens on society and has been reported to be the most important reason for disability at the global level. Complementary methods in stroke patients may be useful in reducing the symptoms following a stroke. This study investigated the effects of inhaler aromatherapy and foot massage on sleep quality, happiness, and fatigue in patients post stroke. In this randomized controlled trial, 91 participants were randomly allocated into one of the following three groups (foot massage + aromatherapy, aromatherapy, and control). The foot massage group was provided with 30min foot massage sessions (3 days per week) for 4 weeks. The foot massage + aromatherapy group was provided with a lavender oil inhaler during the foot massage. The data collected included details on Sociodemographic Status, Oxford Happiness Questionnaire, Piper Fatigue Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS (IBM SPSS Statistics 24). At the end of the study, statistically significant differences were found between posttest scores of groups in fatigue scale, sleep quality scale, and happiness questionnaire (p<0.05). The combination of foot massage and aromatherapy was found to be more effective in comparison to foot massage. This study suggests that foot massage + aromatherapy and foot massage procedures may improve sleep quality and happiness levels in stroke patients and reduce their level of fatigue. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov.ID: NCT05403515.