Pharmacists’ Knowledge And Perception Regarding Dietary Supplements In Palestine: Descriptive Study

ABSTRACT

Objective: To assess pharmacists’ knowledge with regards registered dietary supplements DS and their perception toward DS registration by the ministry of health MOH Methods: A questionnaire was designed to assess pharmacists’ knowledge about newly registered food supplements (registered after 2012) and to assess their view about the current measures followed by MOH in registering these supplements. The questionnaire was distributed to pharmacists in West Bank–Palestine during the period from December 2017 to March 2018. Data collected were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences program (SPSS) version 10. Results: Pharmacists’ knowledge with regards to registered DS was high with approximately 86% have recorded the right answers. Their perception about the current increasing registration of DS, pharmacists (67%) thinks that ‘what available DS in the market’ is enough and there is no need for more DS to be registered. Almost half of the pharmacists (48%) think that the information provided regarding dietary supplements is inadequate and almost 30% think is adequate. More than 70% of the pharmacists they never or rarely access the MOH web site to access for information about DS. Conclusion: This study highlighted the importance of controlling DS registration by the MOH and the necessity to effectively update pharmacists about these DS for effective counseling.