Efek Essential Oil Lemon Myrtle Terhadap Tingkat Kecemasan pada Mahasiswa FK UMSURABAYA

Kecemasan merupakan salah satu masalah kesehatan mental yang paling sering dialami oleh mahasiswa kedokteran dan sering disertai dengan perubahan fisiologis seperti peningkatan tekanan darah dan denyut nadi. Namun, intervensi nonfarmakologis yang mampu memengaruhi aspek psikologis dan fisiologis secara bersamaan masih terbatas. Essential Oil lemon myrtle (Backhousia citriodora), yang kaya akan citral, diketahui memiliki efek ansiolitik dan relaksasi melalui modulasi sistem limbik dan sistem saraf otonom.
Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui efek inhalasi Essential Oil lemon myrtle terhadap tingkat kecemasan dan respon fisiologis pada mahasiswa Fakultas Kedokteran Universitas Muhammadiyah Surabaya. Penelitian ini menggunakan desain quasi-eksperimental. Sebanyak 27 responden berpartisipasi dalam penelitian ini, menghasilkan 54 observasi dalam dua kondisi, yaitu menghirup dan tidak menghirup Essential Oil. Tingkat kecemasan diukur menggunakan Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) sebelum dan sesudah intervensi, sedangkan parameter fisiologis berupa tekanan darah sistolik, tekanan darah diastolik, dan denyut nadi diukur pada fase pre-test, durante, dan post-test. Analisis data menggunakan uji Chi-square dengan tingkat signifikansi p < 0,05.
Hasil penelitian menunjukkan adanya penurunan signifikan pada tekanan darah sistolik (p = 0,012 pada pre-durante; p = 0,040 pada pre-post) dan tekanan darah diastolik (p = 0,033 pada pre-post) pada kelompok yang menghirup Essential Oil. Denyut nadi menunjukkan kecenderungan penurunan (p = 0,050), meskipun tidak signifikan secara statistik. Namun, tidak ditemukan perbedaan yang signifikan pada tingkat kecemasan berdasarkan skor BAI (p = 0,169).
Kesimpulannya, inhalasi Essential Oil lemon myrtle berpengaruh terhadap respon fisiologis, khususnya tekanan darah, namun tidak menunjukkan pengaruh signifikan terhadap tingkat kecemasan subjektif. Hal ini menunjukkan bahwa aromaterapi lebih efektif dalam memodulasi respon fisiologis stres dibandingkan persepsi psikologis kecemasan.

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Anxiety is one of the most common mental health problems among medical students and is often associated with physiological changes such as increased blood pressure and heart rate. However, non-pharmacological interventions that address both psychological and physiological responses are still limited. Lemon myrtle (Backhousia citriodora) Essential Oil, which is rich in citral, has been reported to have anxiolytic and relaxation effects through modulation of the limbic system and autonomic nervous system.
This study aimed to determine the effect of inhaled lemon myrtle Essential Oil on anxiety levels and physiological responses among medical students at Universitas Muhammadiyah Surabaya. This study used a quasi-experimental design. A total of 27 respondents participated, generating 54 observations across two conditions: inhalation and non-inhalation. Anxiety levels were measured using the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) before and after the intervention, while physiological parameters including systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate were measured during pre-test, durante, and post-test phases. Data were analyzed using the Chi-square test with a significance level of p < 0.05.
The results showed a significant decrease in systolic blood pressure (p = 0.012 during pre-durante; p = 0.040 during pre-post) and diastolic blood pressure (p = 0.033 during pre-post) in the inhalation group. Heart rate showed a decreasing trend (p = 0.050), although not statistically significant. However, no significant difference was found in anxiety levels measured by BAI (p = 0.169).
In conclusion, inhalation of lemon myrtle Essential Oil affects physiological responses, particularly blood pressure, but does not significantly reduce subjective anxiety levels. These findings suggest that aromatherapy may be more effective in modulating physiological stress responses than psychological perception of anxiety.