Survey on Aromatherapy Among Healthcare Professionals in Morocco

Abstract

Background: Herbal remedies and more particularly essential oils are increasingly used throughout the world. In Morocco, the practice of aromatherapy is becoming more and more important, but the knowledge, attitudes, and expectations of healthcare professionals towards essential oils have never been studied. Aim: To assess the attitudes, knowledge, and expectations towards essential oils and aromatherapy of Moroccan healthcare professionals. Methods: We conducted a survey among 205 Moroccan healthcare professionals from different categories using an anonymous electronic questionnaire. Results: The participants to our survey have a good general knowledge and 47.8% of the them have already prescribed or advised essential oils. However, only 10.2% of them considered essential oils as widely available. Moreover, only 3.9% of the respondents judged their theoretical knowledge of essential oils and aromatherapy as perfect, 36.6% considered the lack of information in this field as the limiting factor in prescribing and advising essential oils, and 88.3% were in favor of integrating aromatherapy into their basic training course. The prescription or advice of essential oils are statistically correlated with age, profession, factors mentioned as limiting the prescription and advice of essential oils, and the theoretical knowledge. Conclusion: Empowering healthcare professionals’ capacities could help them overcome their fears and enable them to offer aromatherapy advice to their patients with confidence. This could also help to expand the use of essential oils in Moroccan healthcare facilities. Key words: Survey, Aromatherapy, Essential oils, Healthcare professionals, Morocco.