Electronic Theses and Dissertations (Masters)

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Browsing Electronic Theses and Dissertations (Masters) by School "School of Public Health"

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    Knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of healthcare workers on adverse drug reaction reporting in a government hospital in Botswana
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Lipholo, Lineo; Padayachee, Neelaveni; Vagiri, Rajesh
    INTRODUCTION Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs) are an inherent part of using medication to treat diseases. They impact negatively on the health of an individual, potentially leading to hospitalization and increase in the cost of caring for hospitalized patients. Healthcare professionals (HCP) need to assume an active surveillance role of reporting suspected ADRs. Spontaneous reporting (SR) becomes the practice to adopt to ensure safe use of medicines. Education and training are thus necessary to equip HCPs with the necessary skills to identify and report ADRs. OBJECTIVES The objective of this study explored the knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of healthcare professionals in a government hospital in Botswana when it comes to reporting ADRs. METHOD A questionnaire composed of both open and closed ended questions was used to collect data on the knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of HCPs to establish their disposition towards reporting of ADRs. The research tool was checked for its face and content validity as well as internal consistency. The data collected was captured in Microsoft Excel version 16.43 and then imported to SPSS version 27.0 for data analysis. RESULTS Based on the findings of this study 26.3% of the participants indicated that they had attended training pertaining to ADR reporting, whilst 39.8% indicated that they had seen and reported an ADR before. There was no statistical significance in reporting of ADRs between profession and gender (p=0.075). When assessing for a statistical association between the participants’ profession and having used an ADR reporting form before, there was no statistically significant association (p=0.28). The association between the average number of ADRs reported and having attended seminar/training was statistically significant (p<0.05). HCPs felt that reporting ADR was of high importance with a Mean Score of 4.67 and Standard Deviation of 0.63 on Likert items measuring attitude towards reporting ADR. HCPs showed positive perception towards reporting ADRs with a Mean Score of 3.07 and Standard Deviation of 1.17 on Likert items measuring perceptions. 40% of the HCPs indicated that they would report ADRs requiring hospitalization.21.8% of HCPs felt that workload could not allow for reporting of ADRs and 5.3% said lack of feedback discouraged from authorities reporting of ADRs. CONCLUSION There is a lack of knowledge of ADR reporting among HCPs. The lack of ADR reporting results in unsafe practices with the use of medications. This is despite strategies suggested to curb the challenge of underreporting. Some of the discouraging reasons to report include lack of feedback and communication from the authorities, and workload. These factors affect the overall reporting behaviour among the HCPs even when there is a positive attitude and perception of the importance of reporting ADRs. Education in the form of training and seminars should be a continuous practice, to equip HCPs with the necessary knowledge and skills needed to strengthen the practice of Pharmacovigilance in ensuring medication safety