Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30237840›Full record

ArticleCanadian pharmacists journal : CPJ = Revue des pharmaciens du Canada : RPC

Patients' perceptions and use of natural health products.

Arden R Barry

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Canadian pharmacists journal : CPJ = Revue des pharmaciens du Canada : RPC. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
28citing papers in PubMed
6.4field-weighted citation impact, top 4% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

28 citing papers in PubMed, 56 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.

Arden R BarryLower Mainland Pharmacy Services, Chilliwack General Hospital, Chilliwack and the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia.
University of British Columbia · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDespite a lack of good scientific evidence for their benefit, Canadians take a lot of natural health products (NHPs). The objectives of this study were to determine patients' perception of the efficacy, safety and quality of NHPs and to characterize NHP use.

methodsA standardized, 18-question survey was distributed to the general public through a variety of methods.

resultsA total of 326 individuals completed the survey. Eighty-five percent of respondents take 1 or more NHPs. Forty-seven percent agreed/strongly agreed that NHPs are safer than prescription medications and 24% disagreed/strongly disagreed that prescription medications are more effective than NHPs. Three-quarters of respondents agreed/strongly agreed that health care providers should recommend NHPs more often, as most stated they preferred to take an NHP for both a minor ailment (82%) and chronic medical condition (60%). Respondents used 124 different NHPs, most commonly vitamin D, vitamin B and magnesium. Respondents purchased NHPs primarily from health/vitamin stores (66%) and accessed the Internet for information about them (64%). Younger, female respondents were more likely to take NHPs. DISCUSSION: Patients appear to be comfortable foregoing education from health care professionals about the benefits and risks of NHPs. Patients' comfort with self-prescribing NHPs seems to stem from a perception of general efficacy and quality with little to no concern about harm and appears to be strongly influenced by lay sources of information.

conclusionMost respondents take 1 or more NHPs, preferring to use NHPs over prescription medications for minor and chronic health concerns seemingly based on a perception of safety and quality.

Identifiers

PMID30237840
PMCPMC6141934
OpenAlexW2805684834

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.