Adverse Drug Reactions Reporting among Health Professionals in Government Hospitals in Katsina State, Nigeria

Abstract

Medicines have the potential to cause Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs) and therefore the need for health professionals to detect and spontaneously report to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) for further actions to ensure patients and public safety. The study was conducted to ascertain the proportion and reporting procedures of ADRs reported by health professionals in the Government Hospitals in Katsina State, Nigeria. This was a cross-sectional survey of 392 health professionals randomly selected from the 19 secondary hospitals in Katsina state. Data were collected through a self-administered structured questionnaire from 18th January to 19th February 2021 with a 98.7% and 1.3% response rate. Data were analyzed using STATA software Version 15.0. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the background characteristics of respondents, and the outcome, such as the proportion of ADR reported summarized in percentages, frequencies, and charts. There was only a 28.3% ADRs reporting rate, and 25.1% of health professionals who saw an ADRs case reported it by completing the ADRs form. The level of knowledge on ADRs reporting procedures was 58.3% among respondents. The main systemic challenge with ADRs reporting was the lack of access to the reporting form for ADRs. Therefore, there is a need to improve access to the reporting form in all the hospitals. Keywords: Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting, Government Hospitals, Health Professionals, Katsina state, Nigeria, Reporting Rate.