A Questionnaire Study on the Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Pharmacovigilance among Practicing Healthcare Professionals of the Teaching Hospital in Sebha, Libya

Abstract

Pharmacovigilance is assessing whether the benefits of a drug outweigh the risks, and it does not stop when a drug is certified. Pharmacovigilance involves ongoing monitoring of drugs to ensure they remain safe for use, especially since previously undetected adverse events can occur at any time. However, this concept is still new to some healthcare professionals. Currently, significant attention has been drawn to pharmacovigilance in Arab countries due to the development of new regulations. The present cross-sectional, qualitative study used a questionnaire to assess knowledge of, attitudes towards, and practice (KAP) of pharmacovigilance among healthcare professionals (doctors, dentists and pharmacists) working in Sebha Medical Centre and Medical Facilities. The findings revealed a difference between healthcare professionals’ explicit and tacit knowledge. The questions about attitudes identified respondents’ affective behavior, while the questions about the practice were found the lack of practice of pharmacovigilance, mainly due to non-availability of suspected ADR reporting form, not considering reporting as necessary, fear of consequences, and lack of awareness among healthcare professionals. This study highlights healthcare professionals’ limited knowledge of pharmacovigilance. Drug regulatory bodies and health authorities should implement educational interventions and a practical training program to strengthen drug safety and pharmacovigilance in Libya.