Utilising the comprehensive meta-analysis software to combine two studies and assess flower essence for alleviation of nurse stress as measured by the perceived stress scale.

Background/ Aims. Hilton has published on alternative therapies including a literature review on art therapy which summarises the evidence showing benefit for people with health conditions. Hilton also published on the topic of laughter therapy and how this may provide effective misery relief while also being an environmentally sustainable health promotion initiative. Bach flower remedies are recognised by the World Health Organisation in the global report on traditional and complementary medicine. Research reports that these alternative therapies are effective for anxiety, depression, fear, and pain. Various authors have discussed the usage of meta-analysis techniques in the case of few studies describing heterogeneity, random and fixed effects options, applicability and transferability of results. Methodology. Hilton performed a literature search on Pubmed and the Cochrane Library to identify randomised controlled trials on the topic of flower essence and nurse stress. Results/Findings. Of the listings identified, two were eligible for inclusion. Comprehensive Meta-Analysis version 4.0.000 [https://meta-analysis.com/] was utilised to enter the data from the two studies identified, in order to combine and perform a meta-analysis. The perceived stress scale [PSS] was the statistic in common. The analysis results show that both the random and fixed effects models produced the same statistical result. The treatment group and the placebo groups in both studies receiving flower essence showed PSS reduction, which was not significant between the groups, which aligned with the individual study results. Conclusion. Flower essence was of non-significant benefit in alleviating nurse stress, so further ongoing research may be interesting for enlightening researchers, nurses and other interested persons.