Knowledge and attitude towards adverse drug reactions reporting and pharmacovigilance: a survey among pharmacy, medicine and dentistry undergraduates in a public university

This research was conducted to determine the current level of knowledge and attitude on ADR reporting and pharmacovigilance system among undergraduate healthcare professional students in one of the public universities in Malaysia. An adapted and validated questionnaires was used. Volunteers were recruited using convenience sampling. The questionnaire consisted of two sections A (demographic) and B (Knowledge, Attitude, and Perception on ADR reporting and Pharmacovigilance). Data collected were analyzed using SPSS version 23. A total of 113 undergraduate healthcare professional students participated, which consist of 80% female and 20% male (n=34 dentistry; n=30 medical and n=49 pharmacy). Overall mean level of knowledge on ADR reporting and pharmacovigilance system among undergraduate healthcare professional students (mean= 3.79; SD = 0.61) was moderately knowledgeable. There was no significant mean difference between healthcare professional students except for dentistry with p-value 0.97 at 95% confident interval. The overall mean level of attitude and perception on ADR reporting and pharmacovigilance (mean = 3.90; SD = 0.44) was moderately positive. Least Significant Difference showed no significant different mean among healthcare professionals except dentistry with p-value 0.02 at 95% confident interval. All undergraduate professional students showed a moderately knowledgeable and positive attitude toward ADR reporting and pharmacovigilance system in Malaysia. This study showed a positive development among undergraduate professionals as compared to the previous study. A high knowledge and positive attitude are required to ensure Malaysia do not experience under-reporting of ADR; thus do not jeopardize Malaysian safety.