Interprofessional undergraduate health sciences students' experiences seeking natural health product information from Canadian vendors as self-described in reflective essays

Introduction: Natural health products (NHPs), such as herbal medicines, vitamins, and dietary supplements are used by many Canadians. To guide patient decision-making, healthcare providers require awareness of the NHP options available, and what influences patients' choice. During a course for interprofessional undergraduate health sciences students in Canada, 18 teams of 8 students discussed a case study wherein a patient was interested in using NHPs. Students visited an NHP vendor on behalf of the case study patient and following the visit, wrote individual reflective essays based on their experiences. The objective of this study was to describe students' experiences accessing information about NHPs from community-based vendors. Methods: Reflective essays written up as part of an interdisciplinary course were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Results: A total of 81 reflective essays were included in this study. Of these, 64% of students visited a health food store, 27% visited a pharmacy or pharmacy located in a grocery store, and 7% visited an alternative health and wellness clinic (acupuncturist or naturopath). Students reported being overwhelmed by the amount and variety of products, and concerned about patients obtaining information from non-evidence based sources (e.g. advertisements, anecdotes). They also reported that some of their assumptions regarding NHPs were challenged through completing the assignment. Overall, students felt inspired to learn more about NHPs, be more open-minded, and be more patient-centered in their future practice. Conclusion: The NHP vendor visit assignment helped health sciences students better understand influences on patients in the real world, and could be a valuable addition to curricula, taking a short amount of class time but resulting in enhanced understanding about NHPs.