Hospital aromatherapy: Applications of essential oils and roles of pharmacists

Abstract

Healthcare professionals sometimes encounter problems in medical and long-term care settings that are difficult to handle using only standard treatments and medications. We believe that patients’ quality of life can be improved by incorporating aromatherapy in the care provided in such situations. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practitioners must approach aromatherapy both effectively and scientifically. To ensure that essential oils are used safely in team-based healthcare provision, pharmacists can help improve the quality of medical care by keeping healthcare professionals reasonably informed on how essential oils are managed and applied in practice. In this study, we introduced a variety of use cases for essential oils in managing real-world problems encountered in healthcare settings. We included a variety of cases in which aromatherapy could be used, such as those involving elderly patients, as well as those in palliative and end-of-life care settings. Issues experienced by family and staff members as they assisted patients are addressed.