Healthcare professionals’ awareness and knowledge of adverse drug reactions and pharmacovigilance

Abstract

ObjectivesTo document the knowledge of, attitudes toward, and practices of adverse drug reaction (ADR) reporting and pharmacovigilance systems among healthcare professionals.MethodsThis descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted using a questionnaire. This study took place at King Fahd Hospital of the University (KFHU), Khobar, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, between April 2015 and April 2016. Healthcare professionals, including physicians, pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and nurses, were considered eligible and invited to take part in the study. A link to the online questionnaire was sent to each participant via E-mail, and a hard copy was circulated at the hospital after the objectives of the study were explained. The questionnaire comprised items regarding knowledge/awareness of pharmacovigilance and ADRs, perception/attitude towards pharmacovigilance and ADR reporting, and practices of ADR reporting. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data.ResultsA total of 400 questionnaires were distributed to the healthcare professionals and 331 participants responded, providing a response rate of 82.75%. The healthcare professionals comprised 161 physicians, 39 pharmacists, 21 pharmacist technicians, and 110 nurses. Most of the participants were female (n=198) and Saudi (61.9%). Most healthcare professionals (62.5%) were unaware of the term pharmacovigilance; the pharmacists and pharmacist technicians had the highest rate of pharmacovigilance awareness (60.5% of the pharmacists and 40% of pharmacist technicians).ConclusionThere is a lack of awareness and knowledge of pharmacovigilance and ADR reporting among healthcare professionals working at KFHU.

Adverse drug event reporting by pharmacists: a systematic literature review

“…However, some studies show statistically significant differences between the healthcare professionals. Among studies that included other healthcare professionals, pharmacists were more likely to see an ADE and more likely to be aware about the existence of pharmacovigilance centres and reporting forms compared to doctors and nurses . No difference in the mean knowledge/attitudes was found between the three healthcare professional in some studies or reporting rate .…”

“…Among studies that included other healthcare professionals, pharmacists were more likely to see an ADE and more likely to be aware about the existence of pharmacovigilance centres and reporting forms compared to doctors and nurses. [25,28,42,46,[67][68][69][70] No difference in the mean knowledge/attitudes was found between the three healthcare professional in some studies [27,33,71,72] or reporting rate. [67] However, other studies found that pharmacists have better knowledge of ADEs than nurses [50,73] and pharmacists have better mean knowledge score compared to physicians.…”

Knowledge, practice, and attitude toward adverse drug reaction reporting among interns at a tertiary health care centre

“…[16] Likewise in another study at Saudi 88.8% had never reported, submitted, or identified any ADR reports. [17] According to a systematic review [18] in 2016 based on 28 studies three-quarters (74.5%, 95% confidence interval 67.9-81.9; P < 0.001) of the sample declared that they never reported any ADR to PV centers.…”

Transethosomes and Nanoethosomes: Recent Approach on Transdermal Drug Delivery System

“…Drug delivery enhances the efficacy of drugs through controlled release by considering the factors like carrier system, route of administration and target of drug action. Drug delivery system improves patient compliance, therapeutic index and bioavailability [1].…”