Assessment of knowledge, attitude and practices of pharmacovigilance and adverse drug reactions reporting among health care professionals in tertiary care hospital of western Nepal

Abstract

Introduction: Ensuring patient safety and drug efficacy is a primary responsibility of healthcare professionals (HCPs). Pharmacovigilance (PV) plays a crucial role in identifying, assessing and preventing adverse drug reactions (ADRs) thereby promoting the safe and rational use of medicines in clinical practice. This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) regarding pharmacovigilance and ADR reporting among healthcare professionals in a tertiary care hospital in Pokhara, Nepal.

Methods: A cross-sectional, prospective study was conducted among HCPs working in Pokhara Academy of Health Sciences (PoAHS). Data was collected by a structure and pretested questionnaire through convenience sampling method. Statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 23 was used for performing data analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data .

Results: A total of 102 healthcare professionals participated, with nurses forming the majority. While 55.88% of participants had encountered ADRs during their practice, only 10.78% had reported them to pharmacovigilance centers. Overall, 83.3% of respondents demonstrated good knowledge, and 93.13% expressed a positive attitude toward PV. However, only 8.8% exhibited good practices related to ADR reporting.

Conclusion: The findings of this study concluded that majority of healthcare professionals demonstrated positive knowledge and attitude but negative practice towards pharmacovigilance and adverse drug reaction reporting Therefore the study highlights an urgent need for targeted educational programs, training sessions, workshops and establishment of PV unit in the healthcare setting to enhance awareness and improve ADR reporting behaviors among healthcare professionals.