Aromatherapy for Management of Pain, Anxiety, and Nausea in the Acute Care Setting

May 13, 2026 updated by: University of California, Davis
The purpose of this interventional study is to investigate the effects of aromatherapy on an acute care unit and whether it is effective in decreasing physical or emotional stressors that occur as a hospitalized patient. This study aimed to expand the limited literature on aromatherapy use in hospitalized adults and its effectiveness in decreasing pain, anxiety, and nausea. The hypothesis was that use of aromatherapy would decrease pain, anxiety and nausea in hospitalized adults and increase patient satisfaction. While there is anecdotal evidence of its efficacy, few studies exist evaluating its effectiveness within peer-reviewed journals, specifically on acute care medical surgical units.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

The goal for the study was to collect a sample of one hundred adult patients admitted to an acute care medical surgical unit. A quasi-experimental study with a single-arm pre-/post-test design evaluated one-time use of inhaled aromatherapy on hospitalized adults on an acute care unit. Pre-test tools included a numeric pain rating scale, facial anxiety scale and Halpin's 0-5 nausea scale. Aromatherapy (Elequil aromatabs) was administered for 8 hours. Sleep, satisfaction, well-being, and concurrent medication use were assessed post-aromatherapy. Descriptive and inferential statistics were performed. These subjects had to be conscious, oriented, able to consent, and able to understand the purpose of the study. Exclusion criteria were otolaryngology free flap patients (as this was a study being conducted on an otolaryngology acute care unit and another study was occurring with this population), patients with known allergies to essential oils, those taking sleep medications, or who have an aroma/essential oil contraindication. The use of a pre and post survey was used to measure the effectiveness of aromatherapy on pain, anxiety, and nausea. A baseline assessment was made of these ailments via Qualtrix. Subjects chose the aromatherapy tab fragrance that best fit their chief complaint, which was placed on their gown. After eight hours, a post-application survey to assess pain, anxiety, nausea, sleep/relaxation, overall satisfaction, and overall wellbeing was administered via Qualtrix. A numeric pain scale from 0-10, a 0-5 Likert Anxiety scale and a 0-5 nausea scale were used to measure efficacy. Sleep, satisfaction, and wellbeing was assessed with yes/no. A chart review to determine any measurable benefits in the reduction of related medications while using aromatherapy was to be conducted once one hundred subjects were obtained. The period for this study was approximately fifteen months.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
94

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • California
      • Sacramento, California, United States, 95817
        • UC Davis Medical Center

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age 18 years or older,
  • Admission to Tower 4 for an anticipated inpatient stay >24 hours,
  • Alert and oriented,
  • Capable of using a visual scale to self-report symptoms,
  • Naïve to the use of aromatherapy for the use of decreasing pain, anxiety and/or nausea to participate,
  • Not on a pediatric service.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Cognitively impaired,
  • Post-op from an otolaryngologic surgery (another study was being conducted concurrently with this patient population and we did not want to interfere with those results),
  • Known impaired olfactory function (limited or no sense of smell),
  • On any psychiatric holds (e.g., 5150's),
  • Known allergies to essential oils,
  • Sensitive or allergic to plants (specifically to lavender plants, orange blossoms, sandalwood trees, or peppermint leaves) as essential oils are natural aromas derived from plants,
  • Active participant of another Research Protocol,
  • Admitted as a "short stay" or on "observation" status,
  • Have a known history of Atrial Fibrillation. The use of peppermint has known effects on stimulating atrial fibrillation,
  • Is a prisoner,
  • Known pregnancy, or
  • Expected to be transferred out of Tower 4 and/or discharged from the hospital within twenty-four hours.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Aromatherapy aromatab
Interventional aromatherapy tab used to deliver inhaled aromatherapy to participants
Device: Elequil aromatab
Aromatherapy impregnated tab utilized to dispense inhaled scent for the study

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Numerical Rating Pain Scale
Time Frame: Pre-Post Aromatherapy Administration (8 hours)
The Numerical Rating Pain Scale measures pain experienced right now based on a 11-point Likert scale with choices of 0 = no pain, 5 = Moderate pain, 10 = Worst possible pain.
Pre-Post Aromatherapy Administration (8 hours)
Nausea Scale
Time Frame: Pre-Post Aromatherapy Administration (8 hours)
Nausea Scale: 0-5 Nausea Scale. 0 - No nausea and 5 - severe nausea
Pre-Post Aromatherapy Administration (8 hours)
Anxiety Likert Scale
Time Frame: Pre-Post Aromatherapy Admin (8 hours)
This one-item scale consisted of five evenly spaced numbers each anchored to a level of anxiety (0 = not at all anxious, 2 = a little anxious, 3 = moderately anxious, 4 = very anxious, 5 = extremely anxious).
Pre-Post Aromatherapy Admin (8 hours)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Patient Satisfaction
Time Frame: 8 hours
The use of a post-survey to evaluate effectiveness of aromatherapy on patient satisfaction using a yes or no response.
8 hours
Well-being
Time Frame: 8 hours
The use of a post-survey to evaluate effectiveness of aromatherapy on the subject's well-being using a yes or no response.
8 hours
Increased Sleep
Time Frame: 8 hours
The use of a post-survey to evaluate effectiveness of aromatherapy in increasing sleep using a yes or no response.
8 hours

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of California, Davis

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Beekley Medical

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
December 1, 2020

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
May 1, 2022

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
May 1, 2022

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
January 6, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 1, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
May 6, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
June 8, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 13, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 1636824

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

We will not be sharing subject data after the conclusion of the study

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

Yes

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Cookie Settings

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. For more details carefully read our Privacy and Cookies Policy. ...>>>You can change your preferences or withdraw your consent at any time by deleting the cookies from your website or computer as described in the policy. Please accept it and choose your preferences by ticking the corresponding boxes in the "Manage Settings" section below. Please carefully read our Terms of Service before you proceed with using any part of this website.
«Manage Settings