The attitudes, beliefs and behaviours of health care professionals regarding dietary supplements — ASN Events
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The attitudes, beliefs and behaviours of health care professionals regarding dietary supplements (#124)

Wolfgang Marx 1 , Nicole Kiss 2 , Daniel McKavanagh 3 , Alexandra McCarthy 3 4 , Elisabeth Isenring 1
  1. Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University, Robina, QLD
  2. Department of Cancer Experiences Research and Nutrition and Speech Pathology Department, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne
  3. Division of Cancer Services, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, Australia
  4. Institute of Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology , Brisbane, Australia

Background: The use of dietary herbal and vitamin supplements to treat or prevent chronic diseases has gained considerable interest both in academic research and within the general public. A large proportion of Australians regularly use dietary supplements to help manage chronic conditions. However, this has created the potential for misinformation, underestimation of side-effects, and drug-nutrient interactions. In addition, there is growing evidence for the use of certain dietary supplements to be used as part of clinical practice. Healthcare professionals are ideally placed to address these issues; however, little is known about their current beliefs, knowledge and practices regarding dietary supplements.

Aim: The aim of this survey study was to assess the knowledge, usage, and attitudes of healthcare professionals regarding dietary supplements.

Method: An online survey was disseminated to international healthcare professionals (n=365) which asked participants about the suitability of dietary supplements in clinical practice, barriers for use, and the level of research interest and general knowledge regarding dietary supplements.

Results: Healthcare professionals were interested in dietary supplements (65%) and were often asked about dietary supplements by patients (79%). However, due to a large number of barriers and 50% of respondents saying they do not regularly recommend dietary supplements, the results also indicate health care professionals are tentative about integrating dietary supplements into their clinical practise with. Concern regarding potential interactions with other treatments was reported as the number one barrier (68%) to utilizing dietary supplements as part of clinical practice. In addition, the results indicate that tertiary training in this area is lacking and that there is a high level of interest from clinicians in further education in this area.

Conclusion: This presentation will discuss the current opinion of healthcare professionals regarding dietary supplements and discuss areas for future research and implications for clinical practice.   

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