The Effect of Aromatherapy Massage-Based Sensory Stımulatıon Program on Cognıtıve and Sensory Functıon ın Intensıve Care Patıents

Background: Sensory stimulation is a treatment that uses auditory, visual, tactile, gustatory, and olfactory stimuli, as well as balance and position modes, with intensity and frequency adjusted to the patient's individual thresholds to increase the frequency of arousal, awareness, and pronounced behavioral responses. Studies have shown that sensory stimulation, especially when applied from the beginning of the patient's hospitalization, can shorten the average length of stay and reduce patient anxiety. Among the TIT methods applied by nurses, touch, music therapy, and aromatherapy are included as applications that can be applied to the sensory input problems of intensive care patients and can positively affect their sensory perceptions.Objective: This study is planned to be conducted as a randomized controlled single-blind study to determine the effect of a sensory stimulation program performed with aromatherapy massage applied twice daily for 7 days with a mixture of orange, patchouli, and rosemary oil (7 drops of sweet orange oil, 5 drops of patchouli oil, and 3 drops of rosemary oil in 50 ml of jojoba oil) on the cognitive sensory perception level of patients monitored on mechanical ventilation or oxygen in the ICU.Method: In the study, all patients hospitalized in the tertiary care ICU of the University's Training and Research Hospital will constitute the population. Randomized sampling method will be used in the study. Sample size; G*power 3.5.1. In the power analysis performed with the software package, it is planned that each group will consist of at least 20 people to determine an effect size of 1% with an alpha risk of 0.05 and a power of 0.80 in line with the literature. The data collection tools to be used are: Patient Identification Form, Patient Monitoring Form, Medication Monitoring Form, Glasgow Coma Scale, Rancho Los Amigos Cognitive Function Scale. In Intervention Group 1, massage will be performed by the lead researcher ICU nurse, and the sensory stimulation program will be performed by a trained family member. In Intervention Group 2, massage will be performed by the lead researcher ICU nurse, and the sensory stimulation program will be performed by a nurse. Routine care will be provided to the control group. Since the groups are compared, the independent samples t-test and the Shapiro-Wilk test, which are parametric tests, will be used for evaluation.