Healthcare professionals' awareness, attitudes and practices towards pharmacovigilance and spontaneous adverse drug reaction reporting in Jazan Province, Saudi Arabia: A survey study

BACKGROUND: Globally, adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are the foremost cause of morbidity as well as mortality. This necessitates a system of surveillance that can effectively and efficiently monitor the effect of drugs on the general population. The role of pharmacovigilance (PV) is paramount in ensuring drug safety through spontaneous ADR reporting. METHODS: Data collection in the current research was carried out by an anonymous, online 36-item self-report questionnaire amongst a sample of 351 working healthcare professionals (HCPs) across different regions of Jazan Province, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The current sample comprised 54.4% males and 45.6% females, having an age range of 26–57 years, and was conducted between August 21 and October 21, 2022. Participants were recruited using the convenience snowball sampling technique. RESULTS: The participants' awareness of PV as well as spontaneous ADR reporting, had a significant association with having <40 years of age (χ(2) = 27.40; p < 0.001), being pharmacists (χ(2) = 212.20; p < 0.001), with more than five years of experience (χ(2) = 40.80; p < 0.001), having Masters (or) Doctorate/Fellowship (χ(2) = 171.94; p < 0.001), and having their practice located in an urban area (χ(2) = 50.30; p < 0.001). It was also observed that most participants with excellent awareness of PV and spontaneous ADR reporting also demonstrated excellent attitudes (χ(2) = 147.70; p < 0.001). Similarly, it was also seen that almost all (97%) of the study sample with excellent attitudes towards PV and spontaneous ADR reporting also demonstrated excellent practices (χ(2) = 250.73; p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrate a need for designing and conducting educational programs, providing training and conducting workshops for all the HCPs to improve their awareness towards PV and spontaneous ADR reporting while also highlighting the need and importance of having positive attitudes towards spontaneous ADR reporting. Cooperation between different HCPs should be encouraged to improve their practices towards spontaneous ADR reporting.