Sadia Shakeel, Wajiha Iffat, Fakhsheena Anjum, Rabia Bushra, Sadaf Ibrahim, Shajya Shafiq
Objectives: The present study was aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and perception of senior pharmacy students towards pharmacovigilance and reporting of adverse drug reactions.
Method: This cross sectional study was conducted from Feb till July 2013 by adopting a pre validated questionnaire distributed to senior pharmacy students (fourth and final year) at different private and public sector universities of Karachi. Four hundred and thirty one students responded to the study survey. Descriptive statistics were used to demonstrate students’ demographic information and their response to the questionnaire items. Chi square test was applied to evaluate the association of gender, institution and academic year of students with their response.
Result: Pharmacy undergraduate students in Karachi, Pakistan showed positive attitudes towards pharmacovigilance and ADR reporting. They recognized the role of pharmaceutical companies and ministry of health in ADR reporting and agreed that the ADR reporting system in Pakistan needs further development.
Conclusion: It is concluded that pharmacy students were motivated to practice pharmacovigilance during their clerkship as well as professional career. A nationwide survey including all pharmacy institutions of Pakistan would provide further evidence.
