Knowledge, attitude and practices of pharmacovigilance among doctors at a tertiary care teaching hospital birgunj, nepal

Introduction: Pharmacovigilance helps in the detection and prevention of adverse effects of drugs. For effectiveness of this program, health care professionals should report adverse drug reactions considering it as their moral and professional obligation. The objective of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices of the doctors towards pharmacovigilance in a tertiary care teaching hospital situated in Province two. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study was carried out using self-administered questionnaire consisting of four parts; first part included demographic profile of participants, second part consisted of ten questions for the assessment of the knowledge about pharmacovigilance, third part comprised of six questions on attitude and forth part consisted of five questions on practice. The results were depicted in the form of percentage for each questionnaire. Results: The response rate of participants was 88.51%. Pharmacovigilance was correctly defined by 52%. Department of drug administration is the responsible body for monitoring adverse drug reactions in Nepal which was correctly answered by 80% of the participants. Only 8% had reported adverse drug reactions though 62% had encountered it in their clinical practice. Conclusion: The study revealed poor knowledge, attitude and practices of pharmacovigilance among practicing doctors, thus educational intervention is needed for the proper functioning of this program.