Knowledge, attitude, and practices of pharmacovigilance among health-care professionals in a tertiary care teaching hospital in Telangana state

Abstract

Background: Pharmacovigilance Program of India (PVPI) is drug safety monitoring program which aims to improve the safety and welfare of patients. Having adequate knowledge and awareness about pharmacovigilance (PV) is essential to ensure the success of PVPI. Aim and Objective: The present study was, therefore, initiated to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices of PV among the health-care professionals. Materials and Methods: With permission from the Institutional Ethics Committee, a cross-sectional study was conducted among all the health-care professionals – doctors, nurses, and pharmacists of Malla Reddy Medical College for Women, Suraram, Hyderabad. Hard copies of pre-validated questionnaire consisting of 23 questions were administered to the study participants after taking oral informed consent. Data from completed questionnaires were entered into Excel sheet and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: Data of a 124 study participants were analyzed. Majority of the health-care professionals have good knowledge (knowledge score of 50–75% in 56% of the participants) and positive attitude (attitude score of >75% in 85% of the participants) toward PV but the PV practices are poor. Conclusion: There is a necessity to improve the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of PV among the health-care professionals using various educational and promotional activities to promote their active participation in the PVPI and, in turn, improve the overall quality of health care.