A Study to Assess Knowledge , Attitude and Practice of Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting Among Physicians in a Tertiary Care Hospital

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Adverse drug reaction (ADR) monitoring and reporting activity is in its infancy in India. Spontaneous reporting of adverse drug reactions (ADR) is an important method in pharmacovigilance, but under-reporting is a major limitation. AIMS: Physicians being frontline caregivers this study was conducted to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of ADR reporting among physicians in a tertiary care hospital. SETTING AND DESIGN: This cross sectional, questionnaire based study was carried out amongst all the physicians working at Rajarajeswari Medical College & hospital, Bangalore over a period of 1 month. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A questionnaire was prepared after a initial pilot study and was distributed among all the physicians. For every Physician 30 minutes was given to fill up the questionnaire. Later on the filled questionnaires were collected and analyzed as per the study objectives. RESULTS: A questionnaire was distributed to 189 physicians, but only 122 returned the questionnaire (response rate of 70.9%). This study revealed inadequate knowledge and poor practice of ADR reporting. Though 56.8% physician felt that they encountered ADRs, only 22.1% had actually ever reported an ADR. The most common reasons of under reporting were lack of time(34.5%), followed by lack of knowledge of reporting procedure (30.4%). But the physicians showed positive attitude towards ADR reporting. 95.0% felt that that ADR reporting is necessary and 79.5% supported for establishing ADR monitoring centre in every hospital. Most of the physicians (95.9%) suggested that continuous medical education and training on ADR reporting is necessary for overcoming the problem of underreporting of ADRs. CONCLUSION: The study results revealed the existence of underreporting of ADRs, but also the willingness of clinicians to be trained in ADR reporting and contributing to the pharmacovigilance programme. It is desirable to initiate workshops and training programs on ADR reporting to overcome the problem of underreporting

Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting among Doctors and Pharmacists in Primary Healthcare

“…This finding is consistent with another same study in which the participants revealed their willingness to learn and to improve their pharmacovigilance knowledge in order to improve ADR reporting [23].Education is known to serve as the leading factor to empowerment. In Malaysia, a study conducted by Elkalmi et al had shown the positive impact of educational intervention in improving the pharmacists' perception on pharmacovigilance [24].…”

“…An interesting finding in our study was almost all study participants agreed that ADR reporting should be made mandatory. This was found to be much higher as compared to other studies, where only 60% doctors, 40% of pharmacists and 53% of physicians agreed on the mandatory ADR reporting [18,23]. Despite the positive attitude of our study population towards ADR reporting, the reporting rate remains low.…”

“…Both Doctors (75.0%) and Pharmacist (91.7%) in Kuala Muda District Health Office disagreed that they only report life threatening or serious ADR which in contradict with other study carried out in a tertiary hospital where the respondents mentioned that they were encouraged to report ADR if only the reaction was serious [23]. The same study also revealed that 73.7% from their respondents reported ADR if only the reaction was serious [23].…”

“…The same study also revealed that 73.7% from their respondents reported ADR if only the reaction was serious [23]. Thus , healthcare professionals in the Kuala Muda District Health Office have higher awareness on the need to report for ADR despite on its severity.…”

“…In Malaysia, a study conducted by Elkalmi et al had shown the positive impact of educational intervention in improving the pharmacists' perception on pharmacovigilance [24]. Thus , it was suggested that pharmacovigilance should be included into undergraduate curriculum [13,23].…”