Public awareness and perception toward Adverse Drug Reactions reporting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Purpose: To assess the general public awareness and perception about Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs) reporting and pharmacovigilance. Method: A cross-sectional study conducted on June 2012 during awareness campaign held in two malls in Riyadh city for two days. A self-administered questionnaire consisting of three parts was distributed to the attendees who accepted to participate in the study. Results: A total of 204 questionnaires were collected with a response rate of 68%. Twenty-three percent could correctly define ADRs. Only 13(15.7%) of responders were familiar with the term “Pharmacovigilance” and only 78.6% were aware about the Saudi Pharmacovigilance Center. Sixty-seventy percent indicated that their physicians or pharmacists don't actively encourage them to report ADRs that may occur when they take their medications. The majority of responders (73.2%) believed that the medical team, rather than consumers, should report ADRs. When asked why patients do not report ADRs, 19.1(48.5%) believed that patients do not know whether the ADR is from the medication or not, 18.1(46.1%) stated that the reason was because patients don't know about the Pharmacovigilance Center, 16(40.7%) think that patients don't know about the importance of ADRs reporting, and 14(36.3%) responded that patients probably don't know how to report ADRs. Conclusion: The general public in Saudi Arabia are not aware about ADRs reporting and the pharmacovigilance system. The Saudi Food and Drug Authorities (FDA) need to put more efforts to increasing public awareness about the importance of ADRs reporting process and the importance of pharmacovigilance system in promoting patient safety.

Pharmacist's Awareness and Knowledge of Reporting Adverse Drug Reactions in Saudi Arabia

“…[1] All healthcare providers and patients (anyone who deals with medications) are responsible for the reporting of ADRs. [7,9] A pharmacist is also crucial in reporting and preventing ADRs. [10] In 2009, Saudi Arabia initiated a pharmacovigilance system, which along with the drug safety centers made electronic and paper ADR forms available.…”

“…The success and effectiveness of the pharmacovigilance system depend significantly on reporting ADRs from all healthcare providers and the patients as they deal with medications. [9] To the best of our knowledge, no study has compared community and hospital pharmacists' awareness of the pharmacovigilance system in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to assess the knowledge and awareness of ADR reporting system and the pharmacovigilance system between the hospital and community pharmacists in Eastern, Western, Central and other regions of Saudi Arabia.…”

Pharmacist's Perception of Pharmacovigilance and Reporting of Adverse Drug Reactions in Saudi Arabia

“…Unlike community pharmacists, the majority of hospital pharmacists in this study were uncertain about that reporting the ADRs is the responsibility of the doctor and drug companies. [4] Therefore, it is imperative to clear this concept for them as pharmacovigilance and reporting of ADRs is collaborative teamwork.…”

“…[1][2][3] Reporting of ADRs is the responsibility of doctors, pharmacists, nurses and even the patients (anyone deals with the medications). [4] Between all these specialties pharmacists are located at the better place to identify ADRs because they are the expert regarding medications; in addition to that, they represent the link between the prescriber and the patient and they tend to be involved in preventing diseases and improving the outcome of the treatment by counseling the patients. [5] Therefore, their significant role cannot be denied in this vital process.…”

Pharmacist's Practice of Reporting of Adverse Drug Reactions in Saudi Arabia

“…[2] Patients' drug safety cannot be achieved without the collaborative efforts of the healthcare professionals (physicians, pharmacists and nurses) and patients in reporting the ADRs. [3] Underreporting of ADRs is a global problem, including Saudi Arabia. [4][5][6] Many aspects can lead to the underreporting of ADRs such as pharmacists' practice of the pharmacovigilance system.…”