IMPACT OF AN EDUCATIONAL INTERVENTION ON AWARENESS OF PHARMACOVIGILANCE AND ADR REPORTING AMONGST AYURVEDIC POST-GRADUATE STUDENTS

Objective: Adverse drug reactions (ADR) are one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality. Ayurveda is one of the oldest healthcare systems, widely practiced in India and there is a misconception that AYU and H drugs are free from ADRs. Post-graduate (PG) students are fresh pass-out medical graduates and are major contributors in providing health care at tertiary care centres. The present study was planned with the aim of evaluation of knowledge, attitude and practice of pharmacovigilance amongst PG students and impact of an educational intervention on their knowledge and attitude. Methods: A pre-test, post-test questionnaire based cross-sectional study was conducted. 41 postgraduate students from different branches were included. An educational intervention in the form of sensitization programme, including basic knowledge of pharmacovigilance, monitoring system for pharmacovigilance andcase-based ADR reporting was conducted. A validated questionnaire consisting of questions regarding knowledge, attitude and practice of pharmacovigilance was provided as a pre-test and post-test and the results were statistically evaluated. Results: Scores of pre-test reveals that the participants were aware of basic knowledge of pharmacovigilance but knowledge about reporting procedure and the monitoring system was lacking. The difference in mean scores of pre and post-test was statistically significant. Most of the participants agreed that reporting ADR improves drug safety and frequent sensitization programmes should be conducted but practically, they had not undergone any training/sensitization programme. Conclusion: The study reveals that even with the favorable attitude towards drug safety and ADR reporting, the unawareness of PG students about the monitoring system and deficient ADR reporting indicatesa strong need for the conduction of repeated training/sensitization programmes and other suitable methods for encouraging ADR reporting.