Table 3.
Counselling behaviours of pharmacists with respect to vitamin supplements (n = 388)
| Statement | Agree N (%) |
Disagree N (%) |
|---|---|---|
| I often verify the indications of vitamins for prophylactic or therapeutic purposes if prescription is available | 277 (71.4) | 111 (28.6) |
| I recommend vitamin supplements very often and even without prescription | 309 (79.6) | 79 (20.4) |
| I usually evaluate potential drug interactions with concomitant medications | 235 (60.6) | 153 (39.4) |
| I counsel the patient/ consumer about the side effects of megavitamins consumption in large doses | 289 (74.5) | 99 (25.3) |
| I review the patient profile to rule out contraindications of vitamin supplements | 292 (75.3) | 96 (24.7) |
| I regularly consult references covering all RDA for infants, children, male, female, pregnant and lactating women, the elderly, in addition to renal and other chronic diseases | 238 (61.3) | 150 (38.7) |
| I routinely recheck the prescribed dose according to specific RDA before dispensing a prescription | 195 (50.3) | 193 (49.7) |
| I would like to ask consumers questions to re-evaluate the signs and symptoms of vitamin deficiency to to ensure correct vitamin supplement choice | 205 (52.8) | 183 (47.2) |
| I am keen to follow up the patients who are continually using vitamins to record any bad or beneficial effects | 217 (55.9) | 171 (44.1) |
| I counsel the patient/consumer about the significance of natural sources of vitamin | 272 (70.1) | 116 (30) |
| I remind the patient/consumer to read specific usage instructions | 325 (83.8) | 63 (16.2) |
| I counsel the patient/consumer about several essential lifestyle issues such as: | ||
| Adjusting food content and quantities to avoid vitamin toxicity | 257 (66.2) | 131 (33.8) |
| Proper storage and cooking of fruits and vegetables | 261 (67.3) | 127 (32.7) |
| Daily requirements of water | 233 (60) | 155 (40) |
| Cessation of smoking | 240 (61.9) | 148 (38.1) |
| Mean score (SD) [95%CI] | 66.1 (9.8) [60.7–71.5] | |