Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Related to Dietary Supplements Amongst a Group of Palestinian Pharmacists

Abstract

Objective: The use of dietary supplements DS has increased. With lack of related regulations, prescription of DS will depend on the pharmacist’s knowledge. Hence, the study aimed to evaluate the knowledge attitudes and practices (KAP) related to DS amongst community based pharmacists. Methods: The study followed a cross sectional design targeted community pharmacists in Palestine. Selected participants have filled a self-administered questionnaire regarding their KAP related to DS. The questionnaire contained in total 15 items; knowledge 5, practices 7 and attitudes 3 questions. Results: Results have shown that the representative sample had 56% female. Participants experience almost distributed equally over 0-5, 5-10 and >10 years. Also, the majority of the participants was the responsible pharmacist and/or the pharmacy owner. Overall, participants have shown moderate level in knowledge towards DS with mean score of 3.68 ± 1.1 out of 5, the correct answers ranged from 3.6% to 75.3% of the surveyed participants. The practices with highest frequencies were: taking DS sometimes 79.9%, taking supplements from well-known brands 56.2%, giving supplements to any patient 55.7%, selling supplements according to the participants’ knowledge 74.2% and providing advice about supplements 73.2%. The questions about the pharmacists’ attitudes towards organising the regulation of the market of DS showed that more than half 52% of the participants believed that it was suitable. Association between knowledge score and practices was highly significant (P <0.001). Conclusion: The study has revealed that participants were moderate in their knowledge about DS. Also, there was a high connection between knowledge and practices.