Answer the following questions to the quantitative research example:

1. How relevant is the research problem to the practice of nursing?
2. Was the study quantitative or qualitative?
3. What was the underlying purpose of the study?
4. Why do you think the researchers used three groups rather than just two to assess the effects of the aromatherapy intervention?
5. Could this study have been as a qualitative study?
6. What might be some clinical implications of this research? To what type of people and settings is the research most relevant? If the findings were accurate, how might/ use the results of this study?

Quantitative Research

Study: Effect of inhalation aromatherapy on pain, anxiety, comfort, and cortisol levels during trigger point injection (Kasar et al.,2020)

Study Purpose:The purpose of the study was to test whether lavender oil inhalation had a positive effect on the pain, comfort, anxiety, and cortisol levels of people with myofascial pain syndrome during trigger point injection.

Study Methods:A total of 66 patients who were admitted to a hospital clinic in Turkey for trigger point injections were included in the study. The patients were assigned to one of the three groups, with 22 patients per group: (1) those receiving lavender oil inhalation during the injections, (2) those receiving inhalation of an odorless organic baby oil, and (3) those not receiving any inhalation application. All study participants were assessed for pain, comfort, and anxiety before and after the injections, and saliva samples were collected for cortisol level measurements.

Key Findings:The researchers found that patients who received the lavender oil inhalation had lower pain and anxiety and higher levels of comfort than patients who did not receive the aromatherapy. The intervention had no effect on saliva cortisol levels.

Conclusion:The researchers "recommended that aromatherapy, which is low cost, noninvasive, and easily applicable, be applied to individuals with myofascial pain syndrome during trigger point injection because of its anxiety and stress-reducing effects".