運用芳香療法，改善日照中心衰弱老人憂鬱情緒與孤寂感之效果探討

Effects of Aromatherapy on Depression and Loneliness in Elderly With Frailty Living in Day-Care Centers

背景：衰弱不僅造成人體生理功能衰退，引發憂鬱產生，更因衰弱與憂鬱兩者會互相作用造成惡性循環，對身心帶來嚴重影響。此外，衰弱老人面臨活動力下降與人際關係解離，容易產生孤寂感，亦對健康造成威脅。目的：本研究藉由芳香療法之介入，探討其對日照中心衰弱老人之憂鬱情緒及孤寂感改善情形。方法：本研究為準實驗性研究設計，採前後測，收案對象為台北市六家日照中心82位衰弱老人。實驗組個案每週兩次進行芳香療法，每次30分鐘為期四週，研究者將以小組方式帶領實驗組個案執行薰衣草精油的自我按摩，按摩部位為臉部及手部，對照組則使用純基底油，其餘與實驗組相同。結果：日照中心老人憂鬱情緒與衰弱程度成正相關，經芳香療法介入後，實驗組憂鬱情緒及孤寂感較對照組顯著下降（p＜.05）。結論：芳療介入有助於改善日照中心衰弱老人憂鬱情緒及孤寂感，且無不良反應發生。芳療未來可做為推展改善衰弱老人憂鬱及孤寂感之參考。

Background: In addition to playing significant role in the decline of physiological functions and the onset of depression, frailty is involved in a vicious circle with depression that has serious physical and mental impacts on sufferers. Furthermore, elderly people with frailty are less mobile, at increased risk of dissociative interpersonal relationships, and prone to develop a sense of loneliness, which also pose health threats. Purposes: This study was designed to explore the improvement effects of an aromatherapy intervention on depression and loneliness in the elderly with frailty living in daycare centers. Method: This study adopted a quasi-experimental, pre-and-post-test research design. This study enrolled 82 frail elderly people from six daycare centers in Taipei City as the research subjects. The subjects in the experimental group received aromatherapy twice a week for 30 minutes each session for four weeks. The researcher guided the experimental group in a small group setting to perform self-massage on the face and hands with lavender essential oil. The control group was guided in the same self-massage routine using pure base oil. Results: Depression in the subjects was found to be positively correlated with degree of frailty. After the intervention, depression and loneliness was found to have decreased significantly in the experimental group (p <.05). Conclusions: The findings support the beneficial effects of aromatherapy interventions on depression and loneliness in the elderly with frailty living in daycare centers without adverse reactions. Aromatherapy may be used to improve depression and loneliness in elderly people with frailty.