Assessment of the Knowledge and Perception of Probiotics among Medical Science Students and Practitioners in Lagos State

Aim: The study was conducted to assess the knowledge and perception of probiotics among medical science students and practitioners in Lagos state.
Study Design: This is a questionnaire based survey.
Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in Lagos state which is located in the south-western part of Nigeria. The questionnaires were distributed from March to August, 2013.
Methodology: Predesigned pilot tested questionnaires were randomly administered to 270 medical science students and professionals from various health institutes in Lagos state. The knowledge level was scored 0-3 as poor, 4-6 as fair and 7-9 as good and analyzed using Epi info version 3.5.3.
Results: Of the 270 questionnaires distributed, 265(98.1%) were returned by 164 medical science students and 101 practitioners. The knowledge score of medical science students and practitioners was low (Mean±SD of 3.62±2.7). Ninety-four (57.3%) students disclosed that they have never heard of probiotics before and 139(84.8%) indicated interest in knowing more. Seventy (69.3%) practitioners were familiar with the term probiotics but 42(41.6%) had poor knowledge. Seventy three percent were not aware of any proven probiotic product in Nigeria and none has prescribed probiotic products for any medical condition. All indicated interest in knowing more about probiotics. The comparison of knowledge result across the various groups was statistically significant (P<0.05).
Conclusion: There is limited knowledge and poor perception on benefits of probiotic use among medical science students and professionals in Lagos state. The result of this study indicates a need for education on the availability, sources and benefits of probiotics.