Knowledge, Use and Perceptions of Probiotics and Prebiotics of Urban Medical Center Patients

Health Care Provider's Knowledge, Perceptions, and Use of Probiotics and Prebiotics

“…The questionnaire was modeled after a previously developed questionnaire conducted by the same medical center researchers and was originally designed to assess hospitalized patients' knowledge, perceptions, and use of probiotics and prebiotics. 16 For this, questions were developed on the basis of the research objectives and consisted of 3 sections that included demographic information, probiotic questions, and prebiotic questions, all designed to assess these factors in health care providers. The probiotic and prebiotic sections were designed to measure health care provider knowledge, perceptions, and use of probiotics or prebiotics.…”

“…On the basis of data looking at the knowledge, use, and perceptions of probiotics and prebiotics in hospitalized patients, patients use probiotics (56%) and prebiotics (33%) for health but are not knowledgeable about the products and their appropriate use. 16 This prevalent and uninformed use, coupled with the growing body of evidence supporting probiotic and prebiotic effectiveness, emphasizes the importance of the health care provider to become well informed about this topic and to provide the most appropriate recommendations for use. Despite this importance, limited research has been conducted on the knowledge, perceptions, and use of probiotics and prebiotics among health care providers.…”