Knowledge, attitude and practice of Malaysian healthcare professionals toward adverse drug reaction reporting: a systematic review.

Abstract

Healthcare professionals have an important role in ensuring that adverse drug reactions are well documented and reported. The key determinants of adverse drug reactions reporting are the knowledge, attitude and practice of healthcare professionals. A systematic review of the literature was undertaken to identify, critically evaluate and summarise the findings on the knowledge, attitude and practice of Malaysian healthcare professionals towards adverse drug reaction reporting. Literature search using electronic databases including PubMed, Google Scholar and National Medical Research Register was conducted. Additional articles were identified by reviewing the bibliography of the retrieved articles. The articles were searched with any of the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms in the title: adverse drug reaction, attitude, awareness, behaviour, experience, knowledge, Malaysia, perspectives, pharmacovigilance, practice and view. Studies were selected based on fulfilment of inclusion and exclusion criteria. The articles were scrutinised using thematic analysis. Nine studies conducted among doctors, pharmacists and nurses met the inclusion criteria. Five themes emerged which included knowledge, attitude, practice, barriers and facilitators of adverse drug reaction reporting among healthcare professionals. In general, healthcare professionals in Malaysia have good knowledge on and positive attitudes towards adverse drug reaction reporting. However, the practice of adverse drug reaction reporting was found to be unsatisfactory among healthcare professional in Malaysia. The approaches taken to enhance ADR reporting among Malaysian healthcare professionals should focus on alleviating lethargy and ignorance associated with ADR reporting.