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. 2013 Aug;59(8):e372-8.

Use of natural health products in children: qualitative analysis of parents' experiences

Andrea Pike  1 , Holly Etchegary, Marshall Godwin, Farah McCrate, John Crellin, Maria Mathews, Rebecca Law, Leigh Anne Newhook, Jody Kinden
Affiliations

Use of natural health products in children: qualitative analysis of parents' experiences

Andrea Pike et al. Can Fam Physician. 2013 Aug.

Abstract
in English, French

Objective: To gain a more thorough understanding of why parents choose to give their children natural health products (NHPs), parents' sources of information about NHPs, and the extent of disclosure and conversation with family doctors about the use of NHPs.

Design: Qualitative study.

Setting: Newfoundland and Labrador.

Participants: Parents of children who were using NHPs (N = 20).

Methods: Individual, semistructured interviews were carried out with parents to obtain a better understanding of the reasoning behind the use of NHPs. Key themes emerging from the qualitative data were identified according to a number of criteria, including relevance to the research objectives, frequency with which a theme was mentioned, relative importance of the themes based on the amount of text taken up to address an issue, and emphasis (eg, emphatic or emotional speech).

Main findings: The types of NHPs used by parents participating in this study varied, except for the use of multivitamins. In addition, use of the products themselves was variable and inconsistent. Parents reported few concerns about the use of NHPs. The most commonly reported source of information about NHPs was family and friends. Most participants had not spoken to their family doctors about the use of NHPs.

Conclusion: Participants considered NHPs to be "natural" and seemed to equate this assessment with safety. This might explain why these parents sought advice and information from family and friends rather than from their family doctors and often failed to disclose the use of NHPs to their children's family doctors.

Objectif: Mieux comprendre pourquoi des parents décident de donner des produits de santé naturels (PSN) à leurs enfants, comment ils se renseignent sur ces produits et s’ils en discutent avec leur médecin ou lui mentionnent qu’ils en utilisent.

Type d’étude: Étude qualitative.

Contexte: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador.

Participants: Parents d’enfants qui reçoivent des PSN (N = 20).

Méthodes: On a effectué des entrevues individuelles semi-structurées avec les parents afin de mieux comprendre les raisons justifiant l’utilisation des PSN. Les thèmes clés ressortant des données qualitatives ont été identifiés à partir d’un certain nombre de critères, incluant leur pertinence par rapport aux objectifs de la recherche, la fréquence à laquelle un thème était mentionné, l’importance relative des thèmes selon la longueur du texte ayant servi à en discuter et l’emphase (la façon empathique ou émotionnelle d’en parler).

Principales observations: À part les multivitamines, les PSN utilisés par les parents dans cette étude étaient de plusieurs types. En outre, leur utilisation était variable et irrégulière. Les parents se disaient peu inquiets de l’utilisation des PSN. Le plus souvent, ce sont des parents ou des amis qui les avaient renseignés sur les PSN. La plupart des participants n’avaient pas mentionné à leur médecin qu’ils utilisaient des PSN.

Conclusion: Les participants considéraient que les PSN étaient « naturels », ce qui, pour eux, était synonyme d’innocuité. Cela pourrait expliquer pourquoi ils s’informent et se renseignent auprès de parents ou d’amis plutôt qu’auprès de leur médecin de famille, et aussi pourquoi ils ne disent pas à leur médecin de famille qu’ils donnent des PSN à leurs enfants.

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