Effectiveness of flipped teaching on the knowledge and self-efficacy of nursing personnel in non-pharmacological pain management-aromatherapy: a quasi-experiment

BACKGROUND: Aromatherapy is effective in treating pain; however, aromatherapy is not offered in formal nursing education in Taiwan. This study designed aromatherapy training courses for nurses using the flipped teaching approach and explored the effectiveness of the method, which can serve as a reference for future aromatherapy courses. METHODS: A quasi-experimental design and convenience sampling were adopted. The participants were nurses who had been employed for over one year in two hospitals in Taiwan. Forty nurses were included in the experimental and control groups. The intervention of this study was performed in February 2020. Nurses in the control group received one hour of introduction to the use of aromatherapy in pain management. This class was delivered using the traditional teaching method, during which a researcher served as the lecturer. Nurses in the experimental group received a 2.5-h flipped teaching course on aromatherapy. Two weeks before classroom activities, the nurses in the experimental group watched a 30-min aromatherapy concept video on an e-learning teaching platform. Thereafter, the nurses participated in two hours of classroom teaching in both groups. The course design included group discussions, mind mapping, case discussion, practice with essential oils, and do-it-yourself essential oil preparation. RESULTS: Pre- and post-test knowledge and self-efficacy in aromatherapy were assessed. There were no significant differences in the pre-test knowledge and self-efficacy scores between the two groups. The test was analyzed using a generalized estimating equation. Post-test knowledge and self-efficacy results showed that the change in scores in the experimental group was significantly better than that in the control group, indicating that flipped teaching improved the participants’ knowledge and self-efficacy in aromatherapy. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirmed that flipped teaching was effective in helping nursing personnel learn aromatherapy. Implementation of aromatherapy by nurses in clinical practice and its impact on patient care should be further assessed.