Paper Title
The Effectiveness of Aromatherapy on Physical and Mental Health in Nurses: A Scoping Review

Abstract
Objectives: Nurses face uncommon levels of stress in medical settings. Stress has a negative impact on nurses' physical and mental health. Aromatherapy are important strategies for improving nurses' physical and mental health. However, the effectiveness of aromatherapy intervention currently lacks understanding. The purpose of this review was to systematically analyze the relevant research on the aromatherapy intervention program for the physical and mental health of nursing staff, identify the specific contents, outcome indicators, and intervention effects to provide reference for related interventions. Methods: Using a scoping review approach, six databases were searched: MEDLINE (Ovid), PsycINFO (Ovid), Embase (Ovid), CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science were searched with a time limit from inception to July 1, 2024. To expand the search, reference lists of included studies were hand searched to locate additional relevant studies. Results: A total of 29 articles were included, with 28 RCTs and 1 quasi-experimental trial. Findings are presented using four themes: intervention strategy、frequency of intervention、duration of intervention and intervention effect. Aromatherapy interventions strategy for the physical and mental health of nursing staff included essential oil inhalation, essential oil massage, and essential oil mouthwash. Commonly used oils were citrus, lavender, frankincense, and patchouli. The frequency of interventions was often 1-3 times per day, and the duration was mostly 2-4 weeks (ranging from one week to twelve weeks), showing varying degrees of impact on work stress, depression, anxiety, compassion fatigue, sleep quality, headaches, blood pressure, etc. Conclusion: Current aromatherapy intervention programs exhibit characteristics of diverse intervention forms, inconsistent intervention frequencies, and unclear outcome indicators. Future research should clarify more effective intervention strategies for aromatherapy, establish standardized evaluation criteria, and develop scientific and appropriate intervention programs based on the physical and mental health state and work characteristics of nursing staff. This review revealed that the evidence aromatherapy is effective but does not sufficient to improve physical and mental health of nurse. We need to conduct high-quality studies to verify the effects of these interventions on nurses' physical and mental health in the future. Keywords - aromatherapy, massage, nurses, work stress, depression, anxiety, intervention