ASSESSMENT OF KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE TOWARDS PHARMACOVIGILANCE AND ADVERSE DRUG REACTIONS AMONG HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS AT A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL, A CROSS- SECTIONAL STUDY

Soumya P. K.* and A. N. Dattatri

ABSTRACT

Background: Adverse drug reactions (ADR) are a major health problem that causes increased mortality and morbidity. Health care professional’s contribution is essential in early detection and reporting. Lack of awareness about Pharmacovigilance is one of the most important causes of under- reporting. Aim: To assess the knowledge, attitude and practice among health care professionals in a tertiary care hospital. Methodology: This was a cross-sectional study done among health care professionals at Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences, Hubballi. Using a pre-validated questionnaire that included 22 questions to evaluate the participant’s knowledge, attitude and practice towards pharmacovigilance and adverse drug reactions. The questionnaire was distributed to the participants (n=210) after taking their informed consent. Statistical analysis: The data collected was entered in Microsoft Excel. The data was analysed using SPSS software version 21. The analyzed data was expressed in frequencies and percentages. Results: In this study majority of the responders were males (60%), (40%) females. (20%) were students, (30%) were from clinical departments, (50%) from para-clinical departments. Even though majority were interested in reporting adverse drug reactions, did not know how to report the adverse drug reaction. Conclusion: In this study, even though participants from all division of health care system are having positive attitude towards Pharmacovigilance and ADR reporting, lack of proper knowledge about how to report an ADR leading to under- reporting. Therefore regular training programs are necessary to improve ADR reporting rate.

Keywords: Pharmacovigilance; health care professionals, adverse drug reactions; ADR reporting; knowledge.