Knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards drug-food interactions among patients at public hospitals in eThekwini, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Abstract

Background: Drug-food interactions can lead to adverse drug reactions and therapy failure which can potentially impact patient safety and therapy outcome.
 Objectives: This study assessed patients’ knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding drug-food interactions.
 Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among patients at three public hospitals in eThekwini, KwaZulu-Natal. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS® version 25. The association between demographic variables and patients’ knowledge, attitudes and practices were assessed.
 Results: Of the 342 patients, 70.5% were female, and the mean age was 42.87±0.89 years. Almost 50% of patients had secondary level education, and 64% were unemployed. About 52% of patients had high knowledge of drug-food interactions; however, only 30-50% of the patients could identify potential drug-food interactions of their drugs. More than halfof the patients (51.5%) answered that they took multivitamin pills with medications and 61.7% responded they consulted healthcare professionals for drug-food interactions’ information before taking new medications. Few patients (15.2%) had experienced drug-food interactions.
 Conclusions: Overall, patients had gaps in their knowledge and practices, and positive attitudes towards drug-food interactions. Many patients could not identify food items that can potentially interact with their drugs. It is important that education and medication counselling are provided to patients to prevent drug-food interactions, ensure optimal drug therapy and patient safety.
 Keywords: Drug-food interactions; patients; knowledge; attitudes; practices.

Knowledge of Drug–Food Interactions Among Healthcare Professionals Working in Public Hospitals in Ethiopia

“…They should be specially monitored for drug-food interactions. [18][19][20] Healthcare professionals (HCPs) play a pivotal role in preventing drug-food interaction. Their clear understanding of factors that affect the time course of drug action can lead to rational use of drugs.…”

Knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) on food-drug interaction (FDI) among pharmacists working in government health facilities in Sabah, Malaysia

“…This was attested by the fact that almost all respondents agreed that it is important to update pharmacists’ knowledge about potential FDIs. Previous studies have consistently reported poor knowledge on FDI among practicing pharmacists [ 18 , 33 , 38 , 41 – 43 ] and pharmacy students [ 65 , 66 ], highlighting the need to strengthen education in this aspect.…”

“…A cross-sectional epidemiological study in Brazil reported that prevalence of FDI increases with poorer patient’s knowledge [ 14 ]. Improving patient’s knowledge on FDI will help to minimise FDI and associated adverse effects [ 38 ].…”

“…Concomitantly, pharmacists are also responsible to provide patient education regarding their medications to optimise their pharmacotherapy safety and efficacy [ 33 – 35 ]. Previous studies have shown that patient’s knowledge and awareness on FDI is generally low, and pharmacists are well-positioned to fill in this gap [ 36 – 38 ]. The standard set by Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) in The United States of America outlines that patients must be educated with clear instruction on possible FDI to support their continuous healthcare requirements.…”

“…Most pharmacists have knowledge and experience regarding FDI to certain extent. However, previous published studies in several countries have shown that pharmacists’ level of knowledge on FDI were generally poor to moderate, where scores reported ranged around 40–65% [ 18 , 33 , 38 , 41 – 43 ].…”