Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) affects an unacceptable proportion of surgical patients and can contribute to morbidity and unintended hospitalization. Nausea has a complex etiology and pathophysiology. Medications are costly and plagued with limitations. Therefore, nausea continues to be a dilemma despite conventional therapy. The purpose of this capstone project was to describe Texas perianesthesia nurses attitudes, knowledge and practice patterns regarding aromatherapy as a complementary therapy for PONV before and after participation in an educational intervention. Nurses will translate new education to a practice change and use fast acting and low cost isopropyl alcohol aromatherapy to reduce PONV and improve patient care outcomes. The goal of the project was to implement an aromatherapy educational intervention for Texas perianesthesia nurses, and foster acceptance and application of isopropyl alcohol aromatherapy as a beneficial holistic nursing intervention.
