Table 2 Questions for Consumer Guided Interview

1. What prompted you to take this natural health product?

2. Where did you purchase your product? (e.g. Health food store? Pharmacy? Internet? Other?)

3. Is this where you usually buy your natural health products? Why do you buy them from there?

4. Can you describe what (side effect) happened to you? How soon after you took the product did it happen? How severe was it? Exactly what symptoms did you experience?

5. What did you do about it? Why?

   a. Did you tell anyone (and why or why not)? If your side effects were more mild/moderate/severe, would you have responded differently?

6. Do you think that people should report their side effects? Why or why not?

   a. Where would be an appropriate place to report? Medical Doctor, Pharmacist, Naturopath, Retail store where they bought it, Manufacturer, Media, Other.

7. What kinds of side effects do you think should be reported?

8. What would prompt you to report (or not report) a side effect?

9. What do you think about the safety of natural health products in general?

   a. How safe did you think the product you took was before you used it?

10. Where do you get information about natural health products? Why that source?

11. Are you familiar with the reporting system for adverse drug reactions in Canada (describe)? What do you know about it? Have you ever used it?

   What for? (e.g. To send in a report? Or to look at the reports that other people have made?)

12. What do you think are the major obstacles in reporting side effects from a natural health product?

13. Are you satisfied with the current procedure of adverse event reporting system for natural health products? Why or why not?

   a. Has Health Canada and/or your health practitioner provided any information, assistance, or feedback to you about reporting procedures?

   b. What can be done to enable reporting of side effects from natural health products?