Department of Health Promotion,School of Public Health and Primary Care,Maastricht University,PO Box 616,6200 MD Maastricht,The Netherlands.
Public Health Nutr. 2017 Oct;20(15):2694-2705. doi: 10.1017/S1368980017001707. Epub 2017 Aug 3.
Although dietary supplement use is increasing in Europe and the USA, little research involving adults' beliefs regarding dietary supplements has been conducted. Therefore, the present study aimed to explore and compare users' and non-users' beliefs towards dietary supplements.
Thirteen focus group discussions were conducted of which seven groups were dietary supplement users and six groups were non-users. Based on the socio-cognitive factors of the Integrated Change Model, a semi-structured topic guide was set up. The discussions were audio-recorded and subjected to qualitative content analysis, applying the framework approach.
Data were collected in Maastricht, the Netherlands, in 2014 and 2015.
In total fifty-six individuals participated in the study, of whom twenty-eight were dietary supplement users and twenty-eight non-users. The average age of participants was 42·9 years.
Dietary supplement users' attitude beliefs were mainly related to mental and physical health enhancement, illness prevention and curative health benefits. Users were critical of the nutritional knowledge of health professionals and of the quality of food products. Non-users were convinced that the human body does not need any support and that regular food is enough to cover one's nutritional needs. Users and non-users held comparable beliefs regarding the definition and risks of dietary supplements, and perceived social influences.
In their decision about dietary supplement use, both groups were guided by their own convictions to a great extent. Both groups would benefit from improved understanding of the health effects of dietary supplements to improve informed decision making.
尽管膳食补充剂的使用在欧洲和美国不断增加，但针对成年人对膳食补充剂的信念的研究却很少。因此，本研究旨在探讨和比较使用者和非使用者对膳食补充剂的信念。
进行了 13 次焦点小组讨论，其中 7 组为膳食补充剂使用者，6 组为非使用者。基于综合变化模型的社会认知因素，制定了半结构化主题指南。讨论内容被录音，并采用框架方法进行定性内容分析。
数据于 2014 年至 2015 年在荷兰马斯特里赫特收集。
共有 56 人参与了这项研究，其中 28 人是膳食补充剂使用者，28 人是非使用者。参与者的平均年龄为 42.9 岁。
膳食补充剂使用者的态度信念主要与身心健康增强、疾病预防和治疗健康益处有关。使用者对健康专业人员的营养知识和食品质量持批评态度。非使用者坚信人体不需要任何支持，普通食物足以满足营养需求。使用者和非使用者对膳食补充剂的定义和风险以及感知的社会影响持类似的信念。
在决定是否使用膳食补充剂时，两组人在很大程度上都受到自己信念的指导。两组人都将受益于对膳食补充剂健康影响的更好理解，以改善知情决策。
