A study on knowledge, attitude, and practice of pharmacovigilance and adverse drug reactions awareness among health-care students in a tertiary care teaching hospital, Telangana, India

Abstract

Background: The training of health-care students in pharmacovigilance (PV) fulfills curriculum requirements as well as providing early exposure for a secured use of medications in the future. Active participation of health-care professionals ensures successful implementation of PV. Aims and Objectives: To assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of PV among health-care students. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study was conducted at Mamata Academy of Medical Sciences, Bachupally, between May 1st, 2023, and October 31st, 2023. After obtaining permission from the Institutional Ethics Committee, all health care students were provided with a study questionnaire in Google Docs. Results: Medical undergraduates (57.45%) were a majority of the 369 respondents (79.35%) enrolled. PharmDs had the highest response rate (84.76%), followed by medical (78.52%), and nursing (75.56%). The knowledge of PV terminologies was good among 50.47% of medical students, whereas 48.31% pharm ds were aware of adverse drug reactions (ADR) reporting systems and concerned regulatory authorities. 66.51% of medical students and 57.3% of Pharmds had a positive attitude toward PV. However, most of the nursing students had poor knowledge and expressed a negative attitude. Around 33% of the study participants had encountered ADRs, and 33% of the encountered ADRs were reported. Medical undergraduates had significantly better knowledge and attitude, with a mean (standard deviation) total score of 8.03 (2.08) and 3.78 (0.84), respectively (P < 0.01). Conclusion: The disparity of knowledge and attitude from the practice of PV among medical students and PharmDs consequently emphasizes to enroute our strategic initiatives to address the practical difficulties and foster a better reporting culture in the future.