PHARMACOVIGILANCE AWARENESS ASSESSMENT AMONG HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS THROUGH KAP QUESTIONNAIRE STUDY IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Dr. Supriya Rajeev*, Dr. Pramila Yadav, Dr. Pradnya Deolekar and Dr. Deepak Langade

ABSTRACT

Under reporting of Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) is daunting challenge very commonly encountered in the practice of pharmacovigilance. Evaluating the reasons behind the under-reporting is a necessity which differ as per individual institutions. The present study was aimed at assessing awareness and perceptions about pharmacovigilance in a tertiary care teaching hospital along with the reasons for the underreporting of the ADRs. Methods: A pre-tested questionnaire was used with 20 questions from knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) domains. Data was collected from clinicians, residents and interns. Analysis was done by using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) statistical software. Results: Out of 112 respondents 62 (55.4 %) had correct knowledge of definitions while 95 (84.8 %) responded wrongly about individuals authorized to report. Question about reporting of a serious adverse event was answered correctly by 59 (52.7%); however 95 (84.8%) responded about ADR reporting being a necessity. It was considered as a professional obligation by 73 (65.2%). Among the participants 61 (54.5%) experienced ADR in the practice but only 15 (13.4%) reported. Reasons stated for difficulty in reporting the ADRs were lack of adequate time for 35 respondents (31.3 %) while 34 (30.4 %) mentioned uncertainty about labelling incidence as ADR. Conclusion: Study showed considerable lack of precise knowledge and awareness about ADR reporting protocol. Factors which discourage the ADR reporting can be worked upon by stressing upon the awareness measures and necessity about ADR reporting as well as improving the simplicity and easy accessibility of the ADR reporting protocol.

Keywords: ADRs, under- reporting, Pharmacovigilance, KAP.