Management of natural health products in pediatrics: a provider-focused quality improvement project

Abstract

Introduction: The use of natural health products by pediatric patients is common, yet health care providers often do not provide management guidance. The purpose of this project was to improve management of natural health products by pediatric nurse practitioners.

Method: Pediatric nurse practitioners from large metropolitan city were recruited (n = 32). A paired pretest-posttest design was used. Study participants were engaged to improve knowledge of natural health products, and a management toolkit was created and tested.

Results: Mean knowledge scores increased from 59.19 to 76.3 (p < .01). Management practices improved with regard to patient guidance (p < .01) and resource utilization (p < .01). Assessments of product use (p = .51) and drug/herb interactions (p = .35) were not significant.

Discussion: This investigation is the first known study to improve knowledge and management of natural health products in pediatric clinical practice.

Keywords: Natural health products; U.S. regulation; knowledge; management; toolkit.