A Qualitative Assessment of Current Pharmacovigilance Education in Lebanese Pharmacy Schools.

Abstract

This study aimed to explore faculty opinions and views regarding pharmacovigilance content in courses taught to pharmacy students in Lebanese universities. This study identified faculty from all five universities providing pharmacy programs in Lebanon. Participants were identified through the universities' websites. After obtaining required consents, fourteen interviews were conducted and transcribed. All interviews followed a previously prepared and validated interview theme guide. Fourteen professors participated in the study. Qualitative analysis revealed four themes with regard to participants' knowledge of the pharmacovigilance content and their students' competency in applying pharmacovigilance concepts in their practice. The emerged themes were identified as follows: limited pharmacovigilance content in current pharmacy schools' curricula, the need to include pharmacovigilance competencies in practical courses and experiential training, plans to strengthen the pharmacovigilance content in pharmacy schools, and the implication of providing adequate pharmacovigilance competencies on the success of the proposed national pharmacovigilance program in the country. Pharmacovigilance content in pharmacy programs is still inadequate. Our study participants believed that this limited content may overall undermine patient safety. It was thought that preparing pharmacy graduates to undertake pharmacovigilance tasks through providing early didactic teaching of pharmacovigilance concepts, integrating pharmacovigilance competencies into experiential training, providing graduate pharmacovigilance courses, and continuing professional education in topics of pharmacovigilance will improve the level of pharmacy professional practice and patient safety and encourage proper implantation of the national pharmacovigilance program in this country.