A questionnaire based study to assess knowledge, attitude and practice of pharmacovigilance among undergraduate medical students in a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital of South India.

Abstract

Objectives:Spontaneous reporting of adverse drug reaction (ADR) is the backbone of pharmacovigilance program. Under reporting by prescribers is still exist. This study was done to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of undergraduate students about pharmacovigilance.Materials and Methods:It was a questionnaire-based cross-sectional study. Study tool was a validated questionnaire containing 21 questions to evaluate KAP of pharmacovigilance among undergraduate medical students in a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital of South India.Results:All data were analyzed by using Microsoft Excel sheet, Chi-square, and ANOVA. The mean score of final, prefinal, and 2nd year students is respectively (4.76, 5.63, and 4.73) for knowledge, (4.26, 4.95, and 4.53) for attitude and (1.66, 1.55, and 1.28) for the practice. There is a significant difference in mean score between three groups for knowledge and attitude, but not for practice. They have a better attitude, but poor in knowledge and practice regarding pharmacovigilance.Conclusion:Students lack adequate knowledge and skill of reporting ADR, but they have a positive attitude toward pharmacovigilance program. The integration of pharmacovigilance with undergraduate curriculum may help in improving ADR monitoring and reporting.