effect of inhaling the vapor of lavender oil on summative examination scores in nursing students: a controlled clinical trial

background and aims: examination score is important for destination of students due to educational and occupational issues. this study was conducted to investigate the effect of inhaling the vapor of lavender on summative examination scores in nursing students. methods: this single-blinded randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted on 33 nursing students at summative examination session of public health course. the intervention group (n=16) breathed vapor of lavender and the control group (n=17) breathed water vapor for 30 minutes just before the exam and after intervention, the examination scores (0-20) were compared. to analyze the findings, the spss software 18 and statistical tests including spearman’s correlation coefficient, pearson correlation coefficient, mann–whitney u test and independent sample t-test were used. results: the demographic variables as well as the mean of examination scores were not significantly different between two groups (p>0.05). there were no correlations between examination score and age, sleep time, gender, marital status, and parents’ education level of the students. conclusion: although aromatherapy with lavender, as administered in this study, does not affect examination score of students, regarding that the students reported aromatherapy as pleasant; it suggests it is used in examination session as an easy method to apply.