Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
CLINICAL JOURNAL OF ONCOLOGY NURSING VOLUME 7, NUMBER 5 INTEGRATED CARE: PART II 597
Other researchers have published findings ing Society believes that oncology nurses
in the clinical use of aromatherapy. According The use of and nursing in- should provide credible information regard-
to Westcombe, Gambles, Wilkinson, Barnes,
and Fellowes (2003), aromatherapy massage
volvement in aromatherapy ing therapies, assess patients for the use of
therapies, and seek to establish evidence-
is used in palliative care settings to improve likely will continue to ex- based practice in oncology care (Oncology
quality of life for patients with cancer but with- Nursing Society, 2002).
out evidence of effectiveness. Louis and pand. The Oncology Nurs-
Kowalski (2002) measured the responses of
17 patients with cancer to humidified water
ing Society believes that on- Author Contact: CDR Colleen O. Lee, RN,
and humidified lavender oil. Results showed cology nurses should provide MS, AOCN , can be reached at leeco@
mail.nih.gov.
positive changes in blood pressure, pulse, pain,
anxiety, depression, and sense of well-being
credible information regard-
after both the humidified water treatment and ing therapies, assess patients References
humidified lavender treatment. Dunwoody,
Smyth, and Davidson (2002) identified eight for the use of therapies, and Avis, A. (1999). Aromatherapy in practice. Nurs-
ing Standard, 13(24), 1415.
themes when exploring patient experiences
with aromatherapy using a focus group inter-
seek to establish evidence- Campbell, L., Pollard, A., & Roeton, C. (2001).
view format. The themes included destressing based practice in oncology The development of clinical practice guide-
lines for the use of aromatherapy in a cancer
effects of aromatherapy, the counseling role
of the aromatherapist, patient empowerment,
care (Oncology Nursing So- setting. Australian Journal of Holistic Nursing,
8(1), 1422.
aromatherapy as a reward, and communication ciety, 2002). Cooke, B., & Ernst, E. (2000). Aromatherapy: A
through touch. Olleveant, Humphris, and Roe systematic review. British Journal of General
(1999) undertook a small study comparing Obtain consent for treatment. Practice, 50, 493496.
drop sizes of six essential oils. They reported For patients in shared rooms, use the inha- Dunwoody, L., Smyth, A., & Davidson, R.
lation method by placing essential oils on (2002). Cancer patients experiences and
that the bottles differed in their methods of de-
evaluations of aromatherapy massage in pallia-
livery of drops of oil and recommended a uni- tissues.
tive care. International Journal of Palliative
versal standardization of measure to ensure Document progress and outcomes of aro-
Nursing, 8, 497504.
equity and safety in administration. matherapy interventions in patient Graham, P.H., Browne, L., Cox, H., & Graham, J.
Overall, a lack of published validation ex- progress notes. (2003). Inhalation aromatherapy during radio-
ists in many areas of aromatherapy practice. Avis (1999) suggested other guidelines. therapy: Results of a placebo-controlled
Areas of future research should focus on stan- Avoid the use of vaporizers in clinical ar- double-blind randomized trial. Journal of
dardizing the acquisition of plant oils and de- eas because aromas of particular essential Clinical Oncology, 21, 23722376.
livery routes of essential oils, toxicity data, oils can be released in indiscriminate ways. Louis, M., & Kowalski, S.D. (2002). Use of aro-
regulation of practice, and comparisons among Essential oils should be used on an indi- matherapy with hospice patients to decrease
vidual basis after careful assessment that pain, anxiety, and depression and to promote
essential oils. Further inquiry should include
an increased sense of well-being. American
cost analyses of each aspect of aromatherapy includes evaluation of all of the effects of
Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care, 19,
practice, perceived role versus actual role of the oils used.
381386.
aromatherapy in symptom management, and Olleveant, N.A., Humphris, G., & Roe, B. (1999).
in-depth patient interviews. Placebo-con- How big is a drop? A volumetric assay of es-
trolled, double-blind RCTs should further as-
Where Do We Go From Here? sential oils. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 8,
sess aromatherapys clinical efficacy and de- In summary, nurses must educate patients 299304.
velop evidence-based practice guidelines. and staff members regarding specific treat- Oncology Nursing Society. (2002). Oncology
ment plans and potential risks in the clinical Nursing Society position on the use of comple-
mentary and alternative therapies in cancer
Guidelines for Safe Integration use of aromatherapy. Education should in-
care [Position statement]. Retrieved August
clude clear communication that the use of
of Aromatherapy Into Practice aromatherapy is based on patient preferences
20, 2003, from http://www.ons.org/Positions/
alternative_therapies.pdf
Campbell, Pollard, and Roeton (2001) of- and largely not supported by clinical trial Robins, J.L. (1999). The science and art of aroma-
fered the following suggestions. data. Additionally, the marketing of essen- therapy. Journal of Holistic Nursing, 17(1), 5
Identify certified staff members who have tial oils is not governed by the U.S. Food and 17.
aromatherapy or holistic nursing experi- Drug Administration, which implies that no Westcombe, A.M., Gambles, M.A., Wilkinson,
ence to serve as resource personnel and standard criteria regulate the growth process S.M., Barnes, K., & Fellowes, D. (2003).
educators. of plants to be used for essential oil acquisi- Learning the hard way! Setting up an RCT of
Select essential oils with low known risk tion, the acquisition process itself, the level aromatherapy massage for patients with ad-
vanced cancer. Palliative Medicine, 17, 300
potential. of purity of essential oils, toxicity reporting,
307.
Develop a range of essential oils and meth- batch-to-batch consistency of individual oil
ods of application that can be used consis- preparations, and postmarket surveillance. A
tently in a practice setting. final issue in the marketing of essential oils Bibliography
When blending essential oils, consider is cost. Prices vary, as does product quality.
Buckle, J. (2001). The role of aromatherapy in
symptoms, patient allergies, and prefer- Insurance companies currently do not reim- nursing care. Nursing Clinics of North
ence of aroma. burse for aromatherapy treatment, leaving America, 36(1), 5772.
Choose one supplier with stringent expec- patients to pay out of pocket. The use of and Thomas, D.V. (2002). Aromatherapy: Mythical,
tations of quality and consistent testing of nursing involvement in aromatherapy likely magical, or medicinal? Holistic Nursing Prac-
product quality. will continue to expand. The Oncology Nurs- tice, 16(5), 816.