(271) A Probiotic Product Claim Exercise Integrating Natural Medicine and Biomedical Literature Evaluation Skills

Objective : Dietary supplements (DS), such as vitamins or even probiotics, are increasingly used by patients. Because DS do not require Federal Drug Administration (FDA) approval before being marketed and sold and are minimally evaluated in the primary literature, it poses a challenge for pharmacists to address patient questions in practice. To this end, an intervention was designed for second-year student pharmacists enrolled in a Natural Medicines and a Biomedical Literature Evaluation course. The objective of the active learning experience was to practice acquired skills in the context of a probiotic product claim inquiry.

Methods: As groups, students assessed the safety and efficacy of a probiotic product from an instructor-provided list. Groups evaluated the manufacturer’s claim by using appropriate resources and primary literature as supportive evidence. Differences in students’ knowledge and confidence in using the appropriate resources were evaluated. Further, student evaluations were collected. Data analysis was conducted in Excel using descriptive statistics.

Results: A notable improvement was observed in the selection and confidence in the correct resources to use when evaluating probiotic products. Participants agreed that the use of validated resources related to probiotic claims was both important and valuable to their careers and the profession. Most participants (range 80-90.3%) found the probiotic manufacturer’s claim validation activity and overall class experience extremely positive, including 74.2% who agreed the exercise should be repeated.

Conclusions: In summary, the probiotic exercise not only integrated database utilization and biomedical evaluation skills but also detailed a process that can be replicated in practice. Moreover, this exercise stimulated critical thinking and application of concepts in a practice-forward, active learning experience.