EDUCATIONAL INTERVENTIONS ON THE KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE OF PHARMACOVIGILANCE AMONG PHARMACISTS IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Abstract

INTRODUCTION Adverse drug reaction, being one of the contributing causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, continues to pose a threat to the general public as medications are being utilized for the treatment of various diseases. Spontaneous reporting systems (SRS) remains one of the most effective strategies for gathering post- marketing data on drug safety. However, as evident by numerous studies, spontaneous reporting systems are plagued with under-reporting by healthcare professionals. This study was conducted among hospital pharmacists in a tertiary healthcare setting to examine their knowledge, attitude and practice on pharmacovigilance and ADR reporting before and after an educational intervention. METHODS This was a pre- post interventional study. Participants were equally divided into two groups: a test group that received educational training intervention; and a control group that did not receive any training. The knowledge, attitudes and practice of pharmacovigilance and ADR reporting amongst the hospital pharmacists were assessed based on pretested questionnaire administered before and 1st, 3rd and 5th week after the intervention. The survey instrument was a modified version of similar studies conducted both locally and internationally done previously. RESULTS A total of 40 hospital pharmacists were involved in the study. At baseline, the difference of mean score between control and test group is considered to be infinitesimal (Control: 10.60 ± 1.39, Test: 11.65 ± 1.46). The mean ± SD of the total knowledge scores in the test group participants after the educational intervention significantly increased to 17.90 ± 0.91 (Week 1), 18.30 ± 0.87 (Week 2) and 18.60 ± 0.60 (Week 3) respectively compared to control group (Week 1: 12.40 ± 1.67, Week 3: 12.20 ± 2.07 and Week 5: 12.50 ± 1.82 . As for the ‘Attitude’ and ‘Practice’ aspects of the study material, both group of participants portrayed a positive attitude and practice when they are confronted with an adverse drug reaction, however, the test group participants have indeed showed a much significant positive response compared to control group following the educational intervention. CONCLUSION Educational intervention has an influential role in improving hospital pharmacists’ knowledge, attitude and practice on pharmacovigilance and ADR reporting. Hence, to improve the quantity and quality of ADR reporting, workshops and Continuous Pharmaceutical Development (CPD)programs need to be conducted in a timely manner. Keywords: Hospital pharmacist, adverse drug reaction reporting, educational intervention, knowledge, attitude and practices