Knowledge of probiotics among healthcare workers

Izhodišča: Probiotiki so koristni, živi mikroorganizmi, ki ugodno vplivajo na naše telo, če jih zaužijemo v dovolj veliki količini. Probiotiki so vedno bolj razširjeni in poznani v svetu, saj lahko z njimi na naraven način izboljšamo delovanje organizma. V magistrskem delu smo predstavili probiotike, probiotične izdelke in njihovo delovanje ter z raziskavo ugotavljali poznavanje in uporabo probiotikov med zdravstvenimi delavci. Metodologija: V empiričnem delu smo s pomočjo anketnega vprašalnika, ki je vseboval 17 vprašanj zaprtega in polodprtega tipa, izvedli raziskavo, ki je temeljila na kvantitativni metodologiji raziskovanja. V raziskavi je sodelovalo 44 zdravstvenih delavcev, zaposlenih v eni izmed slovenskih bolnišnic. Pridobljeno imajo srednjo, višjo, dodiplomsko in podiplomsko izobrazbo. Rezultate smo računalniško obdelali in grafično prikazali s pomočjo računalniškega programa Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word in SPSS 21 (Statistical Package for Social Science). Za ugotavljanje signifikantne razlike v poznavanju probiotikov glede na stopnjo izobrazbe smo uporabili Mann-Whitney U test. Raziskavo smo izvedli leta 2016 v mesecu juniju. Rezultati: Ugotovili smo, da je poznavanje probiotikov med zdravstvenimi delavci zelo dobro, saj definicijo probiotikov pozna 84 % anketirancev. Ti probiotike uporabljajo tudi sami, največkrat preventivno. Ugotovili smo, da signifikantne razlike (Z= -0,98p = 0.328) v poznavanju probiotikov glede na stopnjo izobrazbe ne obstajajo. Največ informacij o probiotikih anketirani pridobijo na delovnem mestu, želijo pa si jih pridobiti še več. Diskusija in zaključki: V današnjem času, ko je vedno več odkritih bolezni, stresa in »hitrega« načina življenja, je pomembno, da poskrbimo za svoje zdravje in organizem. Dokazano je, da probiotiki dobro vplivajo na telo, zato je njihova uporaba priporočljiva. Raziskava je pokazala, da je seznanjenost ljudi s probiotiki in z njihovim vplivom zelo pomembna, saj lahko le na ta način povečamo njihovo uporabo in s tem posledično pripomoremo k zdravju ljudi.Introduction: Probiotics are beneficial, live microorganisms that have a beneficial impact on our body if we consume them in a sufficient quantity. Probiotics are more and more commonly known, as we can naturally improve the activity of our organism with them. In this thesis we presented probiotics, probiotic products and their activity. Our research focused on discovering the knowledge and usage of probiotics among health workers. Methodology: With the help of a questionnaire containing 17 questions of closed and semi-open type, a research was carried out based on quantitative methodology in the empirical part. We attempted to determine how informed the health workers in a Slovenian General Hospital are about probiotics. 44 health workers with secondary, tertiary, undergraduate and postgraduate levels of education participated in the study. The results were computer processed and graphically displayed using the programs Microsoft Excel, Word and SPSS. The research took place in June 2016. Results: Our finding is that health workers have knowledge about probiotics and their impact and that they use them themselves, mostly precautionary. Their knowledge is greater than what they themselves believe it to be. They get most information about probiotics at the workplace, but they would like to gain even more. Discussion and conclusion: Nowadays when more and more diseases are discovered, and there is stress and we live our lives “fast”, it is important that we take care of our health and our organism. It is proven that probiotics have a good influence on our body, therefore their usage is important. The research has shown that the common knowledge about probiotics and their influence is very important, because that is the only way to increase their usage and consequently influence on the health of people