Document Type
DNP Project
Department
School of Nursing
Date of Degree
Spring 2024
Degree
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
Primary Advisor
Dr. Cara Padovano
Abstract
Background: Over 60-80% of surgical patients experience some level of preoperative anxiety. Treatment options nurses can implement have been limited mainly to anxiolytics. However, traditional sedatives and opioids have negative physiological effects, making the need for safe, effective, non-pharmacologic interventions critical. Even though lavender aromatherapy is a nonpharmacologic intervention shown to aid in the management of preoperative anxiety, nurses often are unaware or unsure about how or if to incorporate it into their everyday practice.
Objectives: The purpose of this Quality Improvement (QI) project was to increase preoperative nurses’ knowledge, attitudes, and intention towards adopting lavender aromatherapy into their nursing practice to decrease patients’ preoperative anxiety.
Methods: A pretest-postest design measuring participants’ knowledge, attitudes, and intention towards adopting lavender aromatherapy after the completion of an education activity was utilized for data collection and analysis.
Results: Preoperative nurses (n=12) completed pre- and post-knowledge surveys. A paired sample t-test indicated a significantly higher mean post-knowledge survey score (p<.001), demonstrating increased participants’ knowledge around the use of lavender aromatherapy. A 5point Likert Scale measuring participants’ likelihood to implement lavender aromatherapy, indicating that increasing participants’ knowledge influenced attitudes and intention.
Conclusions: Increasing nurses’ knowledge around the benefits and effectiveness of lavender aromatherapy positively influenced nurses’ attitudes and increased their intention towards adopting lavender aromatherapy as a viable, cost-effective, safe, adjunct treatment for patient populations experiencing anxiety.
Copyright Notice
©2024 Vicki Yfantis. All rights reserved.
Recommended Citation
Yfantis, V. (2024). Implementation of Aromatherapy Training and Education to Increase Nurses' Knowledge, Attitudes, and Intentions Towards the Use of Lavender Aromatherapy to Decrease Preoperative Patient Anxiety. , (). Retrieved from https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/son_dnp/152
Open Access
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