A controlled trial of topically administered Lavender essential oil as a treatment of behavioural symptoms in dementia.

Status

Completed

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ANZCTR

Registry ID

ACTRN12609000569202

Enrollment

Registered

2009-07-13

Start date

2009-07-03

Completion date

2011-08-21

Last updated

2020-01-13

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

None listed

Brief summary

The project is investigating the effectiveness of pure, high strength lavender oil in reducing physical agitiation in persons with dementia who are residing in aged care facilities. If our results demonstrate the efficacy of lavender oil it will potentially provide a safer and more pleasant treatment option for agitation rather than reliance on pharmacology alone

Interventions

A aged care facility staff member will apply 1ml of pure essential lavender oil to the participant's forearm on 3 occasions over one week. In the following week the participant will be exposed to the comparator treatment on 3 occasions.

Study design

Allocation

Randomised controlled trial

Intervention model

Crossover

Primary purpose

Treatment

Masking

Blinded (masking used)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Age

0 to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

A participant needs to be in the aged care facility for at least 3 months, have a history of dementia, and be stable re: medical, psychologicial and medication regime. Also agitated (physical behaviours) should occur several times an hour on a daily basis and are not associated with nursing activities ie Activities of Daily Living (ADLs). The behaviours are also not due to pain, physical illness, depression or psychosis.

Exclusion criteria

The presence of acutely life threatening illness. The agitated behaviours are dangerous to researchers.

Outcome results