Determining the knowledge and awareness of family doctors in central districts of İzmir about nutrition-drug interaction

Aim In this study, it is aimed to evaluate the knowledge and awareness of the primary care physicians about nutrition-drug interaction (NDI) with commonly prescribed medicines in family practice. Method The population of the study, which is a cross-sectional analytical type, is family physicians working in Family Health Centers in central districts of İzmir in 2018 and consists of 862 physicians. The sample size was calculated as 272. Survey form consists of sections that investigate the demographic information of physicians, their approach to NDI, their perceptions about their patients, and their knowledge level about NDI. SPSS 24 program used for statistical analysis, p <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results 272 physicians participated in the study. The average age of the participants in the study was 49.65±6.59 and 36.4% (n=99) were female and 63.6% (n=173) were male. 46% of the physicians (n=125) were using at least one medication regularly. 46.7% (n=127) of the physicians stated that they encountered NDI at least once. Physicians stated that frequency of their patients asking about NDI as 6.6% (n=18) never, 32.7% (n=89) rarely, 38.6% (n=105) occasionally, 16.9% (n=46) frequently, 5.1% (n=14) always. Physicians, 0.4% (n=1) never, 1.8% (n=1) rarely, 9.9% (n=27) occasionally, 33.5% (n=91) frequently, 54.4% (n=148) always stated that NDI is an issue that should be evaluated during the follow-up of the patients. About informing patiens about NDI 97.6% (n=263) of the physicians stated that it was the reponsibility of physician who prescribed, 67.3% (n=183) of the pharmacist, 59.2% (n=161) of the family physician, 41.9% (n=114). The mean total knowledge score of the physicians participating in the study was 11.03±2.56. No significant difference was found between the total knowledge scores of the physicians according to their gender, specialty, and their regular medication use (p>0.05). The mean total knowledge score of the physicians who stated that they encountered the NDI interaction (11.4±2.38) was higher than those of the physicians who stated that they did not (10.7±2.68) (p=0.038). Conclusion In our study, although physicians gave a high rate of correct answers to some questions, it was observed that the rate of correct answers was generally low and there was an information gap. It may be suggested to update the drug information for physicians in the light of the literature and to integrate them into electronic medical record software. In this way, the family physicians who have access to the most up-to-date information in the fastest way can increase awareness of both themselves and their patients, and contribute to the literature on the subject and to make the most appropriate evaluation for the benefit of the patient in patient follow-up. Keywords: Nutrition-drug interaction, primary care, knowledge level