Table 7.

Summary table of included qualitative studies

Study	Design Country/city Setting	Participants	Methodology	Phenomenon of interest	Aromatherapy procedure and implementation	Conclusion	Safety	Notes
Johannessen [90]	Action research Norway Nursing homes	Residents n = 24 Nurses n = 12	Data collection Night and daily resident reports Field notes Focus on groups and individual interview Data analysis Analysis of resident reports was made by the researcher and the responsible nurses Field notes and interviews were analyzed by the researcher alone with systematic content analysis	Experience and perception of incorporating aromatherapy in the care of residents with dementia who suffer from anxiety and disturbed sleep patterns	By nurses 1 time per day Overnight per time 12–15 drops lavender essential into a diffuser	Nurses experienced an aromatherapy diffuser with lavender a simple and effective caring modality for residents with dementia suffering from anxiety and disturbed sleep patterns As a natural remedy, lavender was viewed as an effective tool in the care of PWD There is a need for nurses to learn more about using aromatherapy and CAM in care	Possible adverse effect not described	Adherence: The staff were monitored by the researcher and any issues associated with the use of the specific oils were addressed and discussed Theoretical basis: not described
Kilstoff and Chenoweth [91]	Action research Australia Multicultural dementia day-care center	Clients n= 16 Family caregivers n = 16 Day-care staff n = 7	Data collection Focus group discussions with memos Field notes In-depth focused interview Client observation logbooks REPDS Data analysis Content analysis of recorded focus memos, interview data, and field notes Data arising from the observation logbooks were scored and tabulated Data from REPDS were collated and analyzed numerically and then compared with perceptions of clients' dementia symptoms	Experience and perception of a community-initiated aromatherapy hand treatment for the multicultural dementia day-care clients	By family caregivers and day-care staff 10–15 min per time Essential oil blend in pure oil base for hand massage	The aromatherapy hand massage was effective in improving clients' behaviors, emotions, and physical functioning Involvement in the hand massage program has a positive impact to all participants Family caregivers generally gained a new purpose in their caring role and became less stressed by it Clients become more alert and less agitated, function more independently, and were seen to initiate meaningful conversation with caregivers	Possible adverse effect not described	Adherence: not described Theoretical basis: not described

PWD, persons with dementia. CAM, complementary and alternative medicines.