Revista de Cuidados Farmacêuticos e Sistemas de Saúde
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Assessment of Knowledge, Perception and Practice of Final Year Pharmacy and Medical Students about Nutrition

Zunaira Akbar*, Zikria Saleem, Arooj Shaukat, Nadia Afzal, Hina Tehreem, Mehak Fatima, Anum Rajpoot, Mehnaz Ashraf

Background: The objectives of this study were to ascertain the knowledge, attitude and practice about nutrition and to estimate the nutritional supplement consumption in health science students.

Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Pharmacy and Medical institutes of Lahore, Pakistan by using previously validated questionnaire. To recruit a sample of 350 students from different Medical & Pharmacy colleges, total 500 students were approached during the study period.

Results: There was no correlation among knowledge, attitude or practice. The response rate of knowledge was equal in both Pharmacy and Medical students. Out of 350 students, majority were females 259 (74%), from age group above 23 years i.e., 197 (66.3%), have normal BMI i.e., 269 (76.9%), family income more than 20 k i.e., 307 (88.7%) and have annual education system 275 (78.6%). Mostly were from urban areas 292 (83.4%) and did not consume any nutritional supplement i.e., 201 (57.4%).

Conclusion: Overall most of the students were aware of the importance of dietary supplements to maintain good health but there was lack of practice in daily appointments. Also, there was dearth of knowledge about TPN, especially regarding calculations of different variables.