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. 2017 Sep 7:13:1175-1181.
doi: 10.2147/TCRM.S140674. eCollection 2017.

Pharmacovigilance and adverse drug reaction reporting: a perspective of community pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in Sana'a, Yemen

Yaser Mohammed Al-Worafi  1   2 , Yaman Walid Kassab  3 , Wafa Mohammed Alseragi  4 , Masaad Saeed Almutairi  5 , Ali Ahmed  6 , Long Chiau Ming  7 , Ali Saleh Alkhoshaiban  8   9 , Muhammad Abdul Hadi  10
Affiliations

Pharmacovigilance and adverse drug reaction reporting: a perspective of community pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in Sana'a, Yemen

Yaser Mohammed Al-Worafi et al. Ther Clin Risk Manag. .

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the knowledge, attitude and barriers of pharmacy technicians and pharmacists toward pharmacovigilance, adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and ADR reporting in community pharmacies in Yemen.

Methods: This cross-sectional survey was conducted among community pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in the capital of Yemen, Sana'a. A total of 289 community pharmacies were randomly selected. The validated and pilot-tested questionnaire consisted of six sections: demographic data, knowledge about pharmacovigilance, experience with ADR reporting, attitudes toward ADR reporting, and the facilitators to improve ADR reporting.

Results: A total of 428 pharmacy technicians and pharmacists were contacted and 179 went on to complete a questionnaire (response rate: 41.8%). Of the 179 respondents, 21 (11.7%) were pharmacists and 158 (88.3%) were pharmacy technicians, of which, 176 (98.3%) were male and 3 (1.7%) were female. The mean age of the respondents was 25.87±2.63 years. There was a significant difference between the pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in terms of knowledge scores (P<0.05). The mean knowledge scores for pharmacists was 3.33±2.852 compared to 0.15±0.666 for pharmacy technicians. With regard to attitudes toward ADR reporting, all pharmacists (100%) showed a positive attitude, while only 43% of pharmacy technicians showed a positive attitude.

Conclusion: Pharmacists have a significantly better knowledge than pharmacy technicians with regard to pharmacovigilance. More than half of pharmacy technicians showed a negative attitude toward ADR reporting. Therefore, educational interventions and training is very important for community pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in Yemen to increase their awareness and participation in ADR reporting.

Keywords: Yemen; adverse drug reactions; attitude; community pharmacy; knowledge; pharmacovigilance.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

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