Comparison of knowledge, attitudes and perceived barriers towards adverse drug reactions reporting between Bachelor of Pharmacy and Doctor of Pharmacy students in Southern India

Abstract

Objectives To compare the knowledge, attitudes and self-reported barriers towards adverse drug reactions reporting between Bachelor of Pharmacy (BPharm) and Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) students in four private pharmacy colleges in Southern India. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among final year PharmD (n = 107) and BPharm (n = 177) students. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data from the participants. The study questionnaire was subjected to face and content validity, and reliability prior to data collection. The responses of PharmD students were compared with BPharm students. Data were analysed by employing Mann–Whitney U and chi-squared tests using spss (version 20). Key findings PharmD students' knowledge of ADRs was higher than BPharm students based on scores on the questionnaire administered (P < 0.001). Gender was significantly correlated with the knowledge of the participants as male participants appeared to be more knowledgeable than their female counterparts (P < 0.001). Moreover, not much difference was observed between the attitudes of PharmD and BPharm students towards ADR reporting (P < 0.05). In comparison, lack of knowledge of where and how to report ADRs was the main barrier reported by BPharm students (P = 0.001). More BPharm students were of the opinion that patients should directly report ADRs as compared to PharmD students (P < 0.05). Conclusion PharmD students exhibited better knowledge of ADRs reporting than BPharm students. Future interventions should be targeted towards BPharm students to enhance their knowledge of ADRs and Pharmacovigilance.