Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 May 24;24(1):570.
doi: 10.1186/s12909-024-05561-5.

Evaluation of the knowledge of and attitudes towards pharmacovigilance among healthcare students in China: a cross-sectional study

Yan Zhao #  1 , Lei Yang #  2 , Ruijie Tan  3 , Jing Yuan #  4
Affiliations

Evaluation of the knowledge of and attitudes towards pharmacovigilance among healthcare students in China: a cross-sectional study

Yan Zhao et al. BMC Med Educ. .

Abstract

Background: Knowledge of pharmacovigilance (PV) and adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are the core competencies that healthcare students should acquire during their studies. The objective of this study was to assess attitudes towards and knowledge of PV and ADRs among healthcare students in China.

Methods: An online, cross-sectional survey was conducted nationally among healthcare students in China from April through October 2023. Knowledge of PV and ADRs was assessed using a questionnaire based on current PV guidelines. We performed logistic regression analysis to determine the potential factors related to knowledge of and attitudes towards PV and ADRs.

Results: A total of 345 students were included in the analysis. Among the healthcare students who participated in the survey, 225 (65.22%) students correctly defined PV, while only 68 (19.71%) had a correct understanding of ADRs. Among all respondents included in the analysis, only 71 (20.58%) reported having taken a PV course. Pharmacy students were more likely to have taken PV courses at a university and to demonstrate superior knowledge compared to other healthcare students. The logistic regression model revealed that the significant predictors of a higher level of PV knowledge were being female (odds ratio [OR]: 1.76; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.06-2.92; P value: 0.028) and having previously taken PV-related courses (OR: 2.00; 95% CI: 1.06-3.80; P value: 0.034).

Conclusions: This study revealed that healthcare students' knowledge of PV and ADRs is unsatisfactory. However, there were a limited number of universities providing PV education. Given the vital role of healthcare professionals in identifying and reporting ADRs, our findings raise significant concerns. Hence, more efforts should be made to enhance PV education for future healthcare professionals.

Keywords: Education; Knowledge; Pharmacovigilance; Survey.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Knowledge of pharmacovigilance among healthcare students in China. (a) Proportion of students (%) with a correct understanding of pharmacovigilance by sex and study major. (b) The perceived knowledge of pharmacovigilance among healthcare students by sex and study major. TCM: traditional Chinese medicine. *Other disciplines include public health, nursing, medical laboratory technology, biomedical engineering, rehabilitation therapy and other specialties
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Knowledge of ADR reporting among healthcare students. (a) Proportion of students (%) with a correct understanding of ADRs by sex and study major. (b) Proportion of students (%) with a correct understanding of ADR reporting time by sex and study major. (c) The perceived knowledge of ADRs among healthcare students by sex and study major. TCM: traditional Chinese medicine. *Other disciplines include public health, nursing, medical laboratory technology, biomedical engineering, rehabilitation therapy and other specialties
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
The pharmacovigilance education provided for healthcare students. (a) Proportion of students (%) having taken PV courses by sex and study major. (b) Proportion of students (%) with a correct understanding of pharmacovigilance by course status. (c) Proportion of students (%) with a correct understanding of ADRs by course status. TCM: traditional Chinese medicine. *Other disciplines include public health, nursing, medical laboratory technology, biomedical engineering, rehabilitation therapy and other specialties
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Healthcare students’ perceived needs for a pharmacovigilance course. (a) Proportion of students who reported feeling that a PV course was necessary by sex and study major. (b) The learning method suggested by healthcare students. (c) The course content suggested by healthcare students. TCM: traditional Chinese medicine. *Other disciplines include public health, nursing, medical laboratory technology, biomedical engineering, rehabilitation therapy and other specialties
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. World Health Organization. Pharmacovigilance: ensuring the safe use of medicines. www.who.int/medicines/areas/quality_safety/safety_efficacy/pharmvigi/en/. Accessed 22 October 2023.
    1. Alomar M, Tawfiq AM, Hassan N, Palaian S. Post marketing surveillance of suspected adverse drug reactions through spontaneous reporting: current status, challenges and the future. Ther Adv Drug Saf. 2020;11:2042098620938595. doi: 10.1177/2042098620938595. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Pierce CE, Bouri K, Pamer C, Proestel S, Rodriguez HW, Van Le H, et al. Evaluation of facebook and twitter monitoring to detect safety signals for medical products: an analysis of recent FDA safety alerts. Drug Saf. 2017;40:317–31. doi: 10.1007/s40264-016-0491-0. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Stricker BH, Psaty BM. Detection, verification, and quantification of adverse drug reactions. BMJ. 2004;329:44–7. doi: 10.1136/bmj.329.7456.44. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Spelsberg A, Prugger C, Doshi P, Ostrowski K, Witte T, Hüsgen D, et al. Contribution of industry funded post-marketing studies to drug safety: survey of notifications submitted to regulatory agencies. BMJ. 2017;356:j337. doi: 10.1136/bmj.j337. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources