Comparison of the effect of multisensory stimulation intervention and aromatherapy inhalation with lavender essence on anxiety and depression in the older adults undergoing hemodialysis

Context: Effective management of anxiety and depression in older adults undergoing dialysis is essential because of unpleasant consequences. Aims: This study aimed to comparison the effect of multisensory stimulation intervention and lavender aromatherapy on anxiety and depression in the older adults undergoing hemodialysis. Setting and Design: This was an interventional study with two groups with pre and posttest plan (IRCTID: IRCT20170611034454N4). Materials and Methods: This study was conducted on 48 patients in Sari in 2020 that were randomly divided into multisensory stimulation and aromatherapy groups. Anxiety and depression were measured by geriatric anxiety inventory and geriatric depression scale. Patients received interventions 3 days of a week for 4 weeks. Statistical Analysis Used: Data were analyzed using SPSS v.21. Mann–Whitney U test was used to compare the anxiety and depression, as divided by the time intervals to before and after the intervention between two groups. Friedman test was utilized to compare the anxiety and depression over the various measurement times in each group. Results: Significance difference were found in each group in terms of anxiety and depression reduction during various measurement times (P < 0.001). There was a significant difference between two groups in terms of depression one week after the end of the intervention (P = 0.03). Conclusion: According to the results, it seems that multisensory stimulation intervention and aromatherapy can be useful for improving the anxiety and depression but multisensory stimulation was more effective to improve depression.