Pharmacovigilance Awareness among the Community Pharmacists and Pharmacy Students in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

Abstract

All healthcare professionals, other healthcare workers, patient caregivers, patients and even their families are all important to the healthcare system and pharmacists in every country are an important part of this system, and have a major duty to maintain and monitor the safety and efficacy of drugs as an integral part of their professional practice. Since pharmacovigilance is an indispensable part of the clinical discipline for detecting, assessing, understanding and prevention of adverse effects or any other possible drug-related problems, the knowledge of pharmacists about spontaneous reporting of adverse drug reactions is the cornerstone of pharmacovigilance for patient care and safety. On the other hand, the worldwide reporting of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) by healthcare professionals, in particular those in developing countries are with poor contribution. Therefore, the knowledge and perception of pharmacovigilance and ADR reporting of 67 community pharmacists and Near East University (NEU) Faculty of Pharmacy students on their 1 st (n=83) and 4 th (n=79) years were investigated in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). The observed results point out that the standards of training and education need to be improved for pharmacists and undergraduates alike giving rise to the design and implementation of more effective training for drug safety.

Pharmacovigilance: pharmacists’ perspective on spontaneous adverse drug reaction reporting

“…Of note, Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) students were significantly more knowledgeable in PV and ADR reporting when compared with BPharm students. 46 , 47 Likewise, in the study by Saygi et al, 34 higher knowledge score in PV was reported among the fifth year BPharm students than those in the first year of the pharmacy study. The level of knowledge regarding PV among the pharmacy students was found to be significantly associated with their previous exposure to the relevant topics, such as PV, ADR reporting, and pharmacoepidemiology.…”

“… 47 In general, most studies reported that the pharmacy students had insufficient knowledge in PV or ADR reporting. 34 , 44 , 45 , 47 , 48 Approximately only 24.4%–62.4% of the pharmacy students were able to define PV and ADR correctly 44 , 48 , 49 , 51 and less than half of them knew the exact mechanism of ADR reporting (e.g., where to obtain ADR reporting form, when to report, and whom to report). 45 , 47 , 48 In certain studies, up to 88% of the surveyed students did not know how causality assessment of an ADR is being conducted, 49 and 70%–80% of them did not know about the PV program in the nation, 48 , 51 reflecting their poor knowledge in this area.…”