Aim: This study aims to determine parents' knowledge and attitudes regarding the use of aromatherapy for hospitalized children, as well as the factors influencing their views.Material and Methods: A descriptive study was conducted with 350 parents. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews using a 35-item questionnaire developed by the researchers based on the literature, between November 2023 and April 2024, spanning from patient admission to discharge. Data analysis was performed using SPSS Statistics for Windows version 21.0.Results: The average age of the parents and children was 32.99 ± 6.14 and 3.42 ± 4.03, respectively. Participants who used aromatherapy for their children were significantly more accurate in identifying its benefits for alleviating pain, discomfort, and sleep issues compared to those who did not use aromatherapy (p 0.05). Those who used aromatherapy were also statistically more accurate in recognizing its effects on improving pain, discomfort, sleep, and nausea after surgery compared to non-users (p 0.05).Conclusions: Overall, findings show low parental use of aromatherapy, limited knowledge, attitudes shaped by prior experience, and the strong influence of information sources in the absence of professional guidance.Implication for nursing practice: Nurses caring for children undergoing surgery should be well-informed about aromatherapy and have enhanced awareness through training programs. Given the impact of family health practices on child well-being, nurses should inquire about traditional practices during patient history assessments.
Erbay et al. (Thu,) studied this question.