Knowledge of Unani and Ayurveda Practitioners Regarding Pharmacovigilance

Abstract

Background: Pharmacovigilance is concerned with public health and adverse drug reactions. The essence of pharmacovigilance is the reporting of adverse drug reactions (ADRs). All health care professionals should have knowledge about pharmacovigilance. Objective: To assess knowledge of unani and ayurveda practitioners regarding pharmacovigilance. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among 190 selected Unani and Ayurveda practitioners who graduated from Govt-Unani and Ayurvedic medical college. Purposive sampling method was applied for sampling. A semi-structured questionnaire was developed and the respondents were interviewed face to face maintaining confidentiality and privacy. Study places were Govt-Unani and Ayurvedic Medical College of Dhaka and Sylhet and Private medical chambers of Unani and Ayurveda practitioners. Results: This study revealed that out of 190 respondents 60% belonged to age group of 20-34 years and 3.7% were within the age group greater than 54 years and mean age were 34.55±7.42 years. 64.7% of the respondents were Unani practitioners and 35.3% were Ayurvedic practitioners. Regarding concept of pharmacovigilance, 22.6% of the respondents had good knowledge whereas 22.1% of the respondents had good knowledge about ADR and drug safety. Out of total 190 respondents 34.7% had good knowledge regarding pharmacovigilance, 35.8% of respondents had fair knowledge and 29.5% had poor knowledge regarding pharmacovigilance. Conclusion: This study revealed that majority of Unani and Ayurveda practitioners had fair knowledge regarding pharmacovigilance. Education and training programs are necessary to improve knowledge of Unani and Ayurveda practitioners. Bangladesh Medical Res Counc Bull 2022; 48(3): 219-224