Determination of health care workers’ knowledge of apitherapy and bee products, and food neophobia

Biriz Çakır; Ceylan Taşyürek; Nurşah Kartal

doi:10.14687/jhs.v21i4.6504

Authors

Biriz Çakır Kırıkkale University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3501-3253
Ceylan Taşyürek https://orcid.org/0009-0005-4582-1915
Nurşah Kartal http://orcid.org/0009-0001-5683-0092

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14687/jhs.v21i4.6504

Keywords:

Apitherapy, bee products, food neophobia, healthcare workers, food consumption frequency

Abstract

Aim: To determine the knowledge of healthcare workers about apitherapy and bee products, and food neophobia.

Method: This study is a descriptive and cross-sectional study. A total of 456 healthcare workers working in different professions participated in the study. The questionnaire contained questions about demographic features, knowledge and use of apitherapy and bee products, and a food neophobia scale. The data obtained were evaluated with the SPSS program.

Findings: Of the healthcare workers, 66.4% were female, 45.6% were physicians and 34.0% were nurses. 54.0% of the healthcare workers were in the 20-29 age group and the difference between the age groups in consumption of bee products was statistically significant (p<0.05). 32.0% of healthcare workers stated that they had heard of apitherapy before, while 71.0% stated that they did not know apitherapy products. Those who have never heard of its effects on health care 59%, while those who think it has a curative effect on diseases are 36.3%. On the other hand, 65.6% of healthcare workers consumed any of the bee products. Honey is the bee product consumed every day (5.1%). When weekly consumption was questioned, the frequency of consumption of honey, propolis and bee pollen 1-2 days a week was 27.1%, 2.2%, and 1.0%, respectively; the frequency of consumption 2-3 days a week was 20.9% for honey and 5.6% for propolis. Apilarnil was consumed once every six months (0.5%), while bee bread was never consumed. Among healthcare workers, 18.6% were neophilic, 63.6% were neutral and 17.8% were neophobic. The difference between the groups according to age, occupation, and use of food supplements was significant (p<0.05).

Conclusion: It was found that most of the healthcare workers had no knowledge about apitherapy and bee products, and age, occupation and using dietary supplements affected the level of food neophobia.

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Author Biographies

Biriz Çakır, Kırıkkale University

Assoc. Prof. Dr., Kırıkkale University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics

Ceylan Taşyürek

Dietitan

Nurşah Kartal

Dietitan

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