Effectiveness of flipped teaching on the knowledge and self-efficacy of nursing personnel in aromatherapy: a quasi-experimental design

Background Aromatherapy is effective in treating pain; however, aromatherapy is not offered in formal nursing education in Taiwan. Methods 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. A quasi-experimental design and convenience sampling were adopted. Results The participants were nurses who had been employed for over one year in two hospitals in Taiwan. In the experimental group, 40 participants received 2.5 hours of flipped teaching. In the control group, 40 participants received a one-hour traditional teaching course. 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 for helping nursing personnel learn aromatherapy. Implementation of aromatherapy by nurses in clinical practice and its impact on patient care should be further assessed.