Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Medical, Pharmacy, and Nursing Students Towards Pharmacovigilance and Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting at University of Gondar College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Northwest Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Nursing Professionals' Awareness of Adverse Drug Reactions and Pharmacovigilance in an Institute of National Importance in India: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background Globally, there is a growing concern about adverse drug reactions (ADRs) as they can lead to increased hospital admissions and healthcare expenses, lower patient satisfaction with treatment outcomes, and even fatalities. Pharmacovigilance is crucial for minimizing the risks associated with drug therapy, but underreporting of ADRs is a prevalent issue. Nursing professionals are an important stakeholder in ADR reporting, as they are often the first point of contact for patients to identify and report adverse drug reactions. Objectives The objectives of the study were to evaluate the knowledge and practices of nursing professionals regarding ADR reporting in a tertiary care teaching institute and the factors influencing their knowledge of ADR reporting. Methodology This was a cross-sectional study involving 275 nursing officers at AIIMS Raebareli, who gave their informed consent and completed a questionnaire on demographics, knowledge, and practice domains. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to compare independent variables' influences on knowledge scores. SPSS version 26 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) was used for statistical analysis. Results The study revealed that the mean knowledge score was 6.378 (total score of 13), with a standard deviation of 2.299 (95% CI 6.10-6.65). About 50.18% of the participants had a knowledge score below 6.5. Multiple regression analysis revealed that working experience, female gender, working in an emergency department, and previous training on ADR reporting significantly influenced the knowledge scores. Conclusion The study found that nursing professionals had limited awareness about ADR reporting, even though they worked at an Institute of National Importance. Based on the findings, it can be concluded that there is a need for improved education and training on ADR reporting and to address barriers to reporting, such as a lack of awareness about reporting procedures, and alleviate the fear of legal consequences.

Adverse-drug reaction reporting by Pharm D students during hospital training

Background

Hospital pharmacists can play an important role in the detection, prevention, and reporting of adverse drug reaction (ADR) since they interact with patients in hospital settings. The ADR reporting practice by Pharm D students, who represent the future hospital pharmacists, has not been adequately investigated in the literature.

Objective

To evaluate Pharm D students' knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding ADR reporting, and the associated barriers and motivators to ADR reporting during clinical training at different hospital sites in Jordan.

Methods

The present cross-sectional study was conducted on sixth year pharm D students during clinical training at different hospital departments in different hospital sites Jordan. In addition to socio-demographic variables, a structured self-reported questionnaire was used to assess students' knowledge, attitude, practice, barriers, and motivators towards ADR reporting. Binary logistic regression was used to explore the variables associated with the study outcomes.

Results

A total of 497 students participated in the study. The participants showed inadequate knowledge regarding ADR reporting, with a mean knowledge score of 3.20 (±1.78). On the other hand, the study participants showed positive attitude towards ADR reporting with a total mean score of 13.6 (±1.96). However, the ADR reporting practice was low with a mean score of 5.78 (±1.88). Not knowing how to report (60.2%) and not knowing where to report (55.9%) were the most common barriers to ADR reporting, while the most reported motivators for ADR reporting were seriousness of reaction (84.1%) and involvement of new drug (51.1%). Logistic regression analysis showed that time from the start of training (OR = 0.510; 95%CI = 0.305-0.852; P = 0.010), female gender (OR = 1.759; 95%CI = 1.083-2.857; P = 0.022), and attending a course/workshop about pharmacovigilance (OR = 0.213; 95%CI = 0.137-0.332; P = 0.00) were significant predictors of knowledge about ADR reporting. Increased age (OR = 0.93; 95%CI = 0.880-0.997; P = 0.041) and low knowledge (OR = 0.564; 95%CI = 0.380-0.837; P = 0.004) were significantly associated with negative attitude toward ADR reporting. Female gender (OR = 0.481; 95%CI = 0.302-0.766; P = 0.002) and attitude level (OR = 1.837; 95%CI = 1.205-2.802; P = 0.005) were significant predictors of ADR reporting practice.

Conclusions

Pharm D students showed positive attitude towards ADR reporting, however, the knowledge and practice of ADR reporting were inadequate and the participants reported several barriers. Therefore, the topic of ADR reporting and pharmacovigilance, as well as, educational training programs need to be included in future pharmacy curriculum in order to improve students' awareness and practice of ADR reporting.

Evaluation of health care professionals' knowledge, attitudes, practices and barriers to pharmacovigilance and adverse drug reaction reporting: A cross-sectional multicentral study

BACKGROUND

Healthcare professionals' involvement and reporting of adverse drug reactions are essential for the success of a pharmacovigilance program. The aim of this study was to assess healthcare professionals (medical doctors, pharmacists, nurses, dentists, midwives, and paramedics) current knowledge, attitude, practices, and barriers regarding pharmacovigilance and adverse drug reactions reporting in multicentral healthcare settings.

METHODS

A cross-sectional face-to-face survey was conducted among currently working healthcare professionals in various hospitals in ten districts of Adana province, Türkiye from March to October 2022. A self-administered, pretested questionnaire (Cronbach's alpha = 0.894 for knowledge, attitudes and practices variables) was used for data collection. The questionnaire's final draft included five sections (sociodemographic/general information, knowledge, attitude, practices, and barriers) with 58 questions. The collected data was analyzed in SPSS (version 25) using descriptive statistics, the chi-square test, and logistic regression.

RESULTS

Of the total 435 distributed questionnaires, 412 completed the entire questionnaire, yielding a 94% response rate. The majority of healthcare professionals (60.4%; n = 249) had never received pharmacovigilance training. Among healthcare professionals 51.9% (n = 214), 71.1% (n = 293) and 92.5% (n = 381) had poor knowledge, positive attitudes and poor practices, respectively. Only 32.5% of healthcare professionals kept the record of an adverse drug reaction and only 13.1% reported adverse drug reactions. The profession (medical doctors, pharmacists, nurses, dentists, midwives, and paramedics) of healthcare professionals and a lack of training were predictors of poor adverse drug reaction reporting (p < 0.05). A statistically significant difference in healthcare professionals and knowledge, attitude and practices scores was also observed (p < 0.05). The main barriers which were supposed to discourage adverse drug reactions reporting by the healthcare professionals were higher workload (63.8%) followed by thinking that a single adverse drug reaction report makes no impact (63.6%) and lack of a professional atmosphere (51.9%).

CONCLUSION

In the current study, most healthcare professionals had poor knowledge and practice, but they had a positive attitude toward pharmacovigilance and adverse drug reactions reporting. Barriers to under-reporting of adverse drug reactions were also highlighted. Periodic training programs, educational interventions, systematic follow-up of healthcare professionals by local healthcare authorities, interprofessional links between all healthcare professionals, and the implementation of mandatory reporting policies are critical for improving healthcare professionals knowledge, practices, patient safety and pharmacovigilance activities.

Willingness, Attitude, and Associated Factors towards Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting among Healthcare Providers in Mizan Tepi University Teaching Hospital, Southwest Ethiopia

BACKGROUND

An adverse drug reaction (ADR) is harm that arises from the use of a drug. Adverse drug reactions have a huge impact on the health system since they result in drug-related morbidity and mortality as well as indirect costs such as loss of productivity at work. Reporting of adverse drug reactions to a relevant authority is one of the methods of enhancing medication safety; however, underreporting of adverse drug reactions by health workers is a major challenge in enhancing medicines safety. The aim of this study was to assess the willingness, attitude, and associated factors of healthcare providers towards ADRs reporting at Mizan Tepi University Teaching Hospital (MTUTH).

METHODS

A cross-sectional mixed method was conducted among healthcare providers working in Mizan Tepi University Teaching Hospital from August to September 2021. A total of 190 healthcare providers and five key informants were participated in the study. The quantitative data were collected using self-administered structured questionnaires, and for the qualitative study, data from the key informant interviews were collected using a semistructured questionnaire containing open-ended questions. The collected data were coded, entered, and analyzed using a Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS, version 21). Furthermore, the logistic regression model was fitted to see the association between attitude items and demographic characteristics. Variables with P value <0.05 were considered as statistically significant. Analysis of the qualitative data was done by sorting the data into categories and examining the emerging themes.

RESULTS

The majority of individuals in the study (81.6%) were willing to report adverse drug reactions. High percent (57.9%) of the study participants knew how to report ADR to responsible body and 66 (34.7%) of the study participants believe that ADR reporting is the responsibility of all healthcare professionals. 86 (45.3%) of respondents encountered ADR cases during their professional career. It was found that the majority of participants (53.7%) had a positive attitude toward ADR reporting. The professional distribution and work experiences of healthcare professionals had a significant impact on their attitude toward ADR reporting (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

A large percentage of study subjects were willing to report adverse drug reactions to the appropriate authorities. The majority of healthcare providers were found to have a good attitude towards ADR reporting. Professional distribution and work experiences were significantly associated with attitude of healthcare providers towards ADR reporting. In order to improve the ADR reporting practices of the healthcare professionals and increase the ADR reporting load at the national level, the national regulatory body should collaborate with health facilities.