The comparative evaluation of knowledge, attitude, and practice of different health-care professionals about the pharmacovigilance system of India

In India, the under-reporting of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) by health professionals is recognized as one of the leading reasons of poor ADR signal detection. The knowledge of ADRs and positive attitude of health-care professionals toward ADRs reporting is vital for decreasing the irrational use of an inappropriate pharmacy. The present study was directed to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of pharmacovigilance (PV) among the physicians, nurses, and pharmacists of a teaching tertiary care hospital of India. A structured questionnaire was designed using previous studies and standardized. Questions were categorized into three groups: Group 1 tested the knowledge (K1–K8), Group 2 tested attitude (A1–A6), and Group 3 tested the level of practice of PV (P1–P5) of the participant. Such 250 questionnaires were distributed to different health-care professionals of VIMS, Ballari. The participants were graded in three categories as poor, unsatisfactory, and satisfactory depending on the mean score. The data were interpreted by calculating the frequencies, one-way ANOVA and Scheffe's test. Furthermore, factors that discourage them from taking part in the PV program were recorded. A total of 182 questionnaires were statistically analyzed. It was found that KAP of PV among doctors, nurses, and pharmacists was unsatisfactory. Our study showed that knowledge, attitude, and level of practice of PV among doctors, nurses, and pharmacists stand inadequate. Educational interventions periodically can improve these parameters of PV.