PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Almandil, Noor B.
TI  - Healthcare professionals’ awareness and knowledge of adverse drug reactions and pharmacovigilance
AID  - 10.15537/smj.2016.12.17059
DP  - 2016 Dec 01
TA  - Saudi Medical Journal
PG  - 1359--1364
VI  - 37
IP  - 12
4099  - http://smj.org.sa/content/37/12/1359.short
4100  - http://smj.org.sa/content/37/12/1359.full
SO  - Saudi Med J2016 Dec 01; 37
AB  - Objectives To document the knowledge of, attitudes toward, and practices of adverse drug reaction (ADR) reporting and pharmacovigilance systems among healthcare professionals.Methods This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted using a questionnaire. This study took place at King Fahd Hospital of the University (KFHU), Khobar, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, between April 2015 and April 2016. Healthcare professionals, including physicians, pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and nurses, were considered eligible and invited to take part in the study. A link to the online questionnaire was sent to each participant via E-mail, and a hard copy was circulated at the hospital after the objectives of the study were explained. The questionnaire comprised items regarding knowledge/awareness of pharmacovigilance and ADRs, perception/attitude towards pharmacovigilance and ADR reporting, and practices of ADR reporting. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data.Results A total of 400 questionnaires were distributed to the healthcare professionals and 331 participants responded, providing a response rate of 82.75%. The healthcare professionals comprised 161 physicians, 39 pharmacists, 21 pharmacist technicians, and 110 nurses. Most of the participants were female (n=198) and Saudi (61.9%). Most healthcare professionals (62.5%) were unaware of the term pharmacovigilance; the pharmacists and pharmacist technicians had the highest rate of pharmacovigilance awareness (60.5% of the pharmacists and 40% of pharmacist technicians).Conclusion There is a lack of awareness and knowledge of pharmacovigilance and ADR reporting among healthcare professionals working at KFHU.