Comparison of the Ease-of-use and Preference Between Two Aromatherapy Delivery Methods in the Perioperative Setting

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Evidence-Based Practice
• Patient Experience

Background:

• Aromatherapy is used in perioperative settings to manage patient nausea, pain, and anxiety.
• Traditional aromatherapy delivery via multidose bottles with gauze presented disadvantages.
• A nurse-driven initiative developed a novel, individually wrapped single-packet delivery method.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate nurses' perceptions of the ease-of-use of a new aromatherapy delivery method.
• To compare nurses' preference between bottled and single-packet aromatherapy delivery systems.
• To assess the impact of a new delivery method on the use of aromatherapy in perioperative care.

Main Methods:

• A prospective, comparative, before-and-after observational survey design was employed.
• Nurses used the bottled method for 4 months, followed by the single-packet method for 4 months.
• The System Usability Scale (SUS) and Likert scales were used to collect data on usability, preference, and perceived effectiveness.

Main Results:

• Twenty-one nurses participated in the pre-intervention (bottled) group and 30 in the post-intervention (single-packet) group.
• Mean SUS scores significantly improved from 62.5 (marginal acceptance) to 81.8 (excellent acceptability).
• Nurses reported positive perceptions of aromatherapy's effectiveness (4.4/5) and its role in patient experience (3.97/5), with a strong preference for the single-packet method.

Conclusions:

• The single-packet aromatherapy delivery method demonstrated high ease-of-use and excellent acceptability among nurses.
• Nurse-led innovation in delivery systems can significantly enhance the implementation of evidence-based interventions.
• The findings support the adoption of the single-packet method for improved aromatherapy administration in perioperative settings.