Essential Oil Use With Breast Imaging A Pilot Study

Abstract

Purpose: To examine the following variables related to essential oil use: familiarity, enjoyment, influence on relaxation, intention for future use, and acceptance among women undergoing breast-imaging procedures. Design: A descriptive, exploratory study. Method: An investigator-designed questionnaire was used to gather demographic information and study variables ( N = 51). Data on age and scheduled procedure were collected. Data collected on essential oils included choice, anxiety, acceptance, familiarity, relaxation response, enjoyment with use, and intention to use in the future. Acceptance of essential oils was derived from the prompt included on the questionnaire “please tell us the reason you accepted the Essential Oil today.” Findings: Enjoyment with essential oils was high 97.9% ( n = 48), 76% ( n = 38) were familiar with their use, a majority 94% ( n = 48) of participants experienced some degree of relaxation following their use, and 94% ( n = 46) would continue their use in the future. Acceptance of essential oils was based largely on familiarity with their use. Conclusions: A majority of participants in this study enjoyed essential oils, were familiar with their use, experienced relaxation following use, and intended to use them in the future when undergoing breast-imaging procedures.