Researchers at Monash University Have Reported New Data on Applied Methodology (Effectiveness of Aromatherapy for Prevention or Treatment of Disease, Medical or Preclinical Conditions, and Injury: Protocol for a Systematic Review and …): Life Sciences – Applied Methodology

2022 AUG 23 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at NewsRx Life Science Daily -- A new study on Life Sciences - Applied Methodology is now available. According to news reporting originating from Melbourne, Australia, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “Aromatherapy - the therapeutic use of essential oils from plants (flowers, herbs or trees) to treat ill health and promote physical, emotional and spiritual well-being - is one of the most widely used natural therapies reported by consumers in Western countries. The Australian Government Department of Health (via the National Health and Medical Research Council) has commissioned a suite of independent evidence evaluations to inform the 2019-20 Review of the Australian Government Rebate on Private Health Insurance for Natural Therapies.”

Financial support for this research came from National Health and Medical Research Council.

Our news editors obtained a quote from the research from Monash University, “This protocol is for one of the evaluations: a systematic review that aims to examine the effectiveness of aromatherapy in preventing and/or treating injury, disease, medical conditions or preclinical conditions. Eligibility criteria: randomised trials comparing (1) aromatherapy (delivered by any mode) to no aromatherapy (inactive controls), (2) aromatherapy (delivered by massage) to massage alone or (3) aromatherapy to ‘gold standard’ treatments. any condition, pre-condition, injury or risk factor (excluding healthy participants without clearly identified risk factors). any for which aromatherapy is indicated. Searches: Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), with a supplementary search of PubMed (covering a 6-month lag period for processing records in CENTRAL and records not indexed in MEDLINE), AMED and Emcare. No date, language or geographic limitations will be applied. Data and analysis: screening by two authors, independently (records indexed by Aromatherapy or Oils volatile or aromatherapy in title; all full text) or one author (remaining records) with second author until 80% agreement. Data extraction and risk of bias assessment (ROB 2.0) will be piloted by three authors, then completed by a single author and checked by a second. Comparisons will be based on broad outcome categories (e.g. pain, emotional functioning, sleep disruption) stratified by population subgroups (e.g. chronic pain conditions, cancer, dementia) as defined in the analytic framework for the review. Meta-analysis or other synthesis methods will be used to combine results across studies. GRADE methods will be used to assess certainty of evidence and summarise findings.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Results of the systematic review will provide a comprehensive and up-to-date synthesis of evidence about the effectiveness of aromatherapy.”

For more information on this research see: Effectiveness of Aromatherapy for Prevention or Treatment of Disease, Medical or Preclinical Conditions, and Injury: Protocol for a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Systematic Reviews, 2022;11(1). Systematic Reviews can be contacted at: Bmc, Campus, 4 Crinan St, London N1 9XW, England. (BioMed Central - http://www.biomedcentral.com/; Systematic Reviews - www.systematicreviewsjournal.com)

The news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Sue E. Brennan, Monash University, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, 553 St Kilda Rd, Melbourne, Vic 3004, Australia. Additional authors for this research include Steve McDonald, Melissa Murano and Joanne E. McKenzie.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-022-02015-1. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

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