Assessment of the probiotic products usage barriers and the status of knowledge, attitude, practice in nurses and medical sciences students: A descriptive-analytical study

Probiotics, as live microorganisms, exert beneficial effects on controlling diseases. Considering the lack of study in this field, the present study was conducted to assess the barriers of probiotic product's usage and the status of knowledge, attitude, and practice among nurses and medical sciences students in Maragheh city.

This descriptive-analytical study was carried out on 386 subjects (59 nurses and 327 students) of both genders at Maragheh University of Medical Sciences between 2020 and 2021. Convenience sampling was used on educational-therapeutic centers of Maragheh University of Medical Sciences. Data were collected by a questionnaire consisting of 35 questions, validity and reliability of which were previously evaluated. Independent sample t-test was used to compare the score of knowledge, attitude, performance and barriers, and Chi-square test was used to compare qualitative variables between the two groups of nurses and students.Values less than 0.05 was considered significant.

Overall, 386 subjects (129 men and 257 women) completed the study. About 54% of participants did not have enough knowledge regarding probiotics. Regarding the barriers to consumption, nearly 57% stated that there was no comprehensive and sufficient information about probiotic products, and 46% of participants mentioned that access to probiotic products was poor. There was a significant difference (p<0.001) between the two groups in terms of being interested in learning more about probiotics, welcoming probiotic workshops, using live microbes in controlling diseases and in the family's shopping basket, the healthier status of probiotic foods compared with current supplements and the effect of probiotics on the outcome of the treatment protocol (p<0.001).

The involvement of media in raising awareness about the safety of probiotic products and general education in schools and the community through nurses and healthcare providers is recommended.