Pharmacists' knowledge and attitudes towards adverse drug reaction reporting: a study in the City of Zagreb area

Pozadina. Nuspojave predstavljaju jedan od najvećih izazova suvremenoj zdravstvenoj skrbi, kako u strogo medicinskom, tako i u socioekonomskom smislu. Njihovo je spontano prijavljivanje u sklopu farmakovigilancije dijelom odgovora navedenom izazovu, u čemu javni ljekarnici zbog svog specifičnog znanja i poloţaja imaju jedinstvenu ulogu. Na kvantitetu i kvalitetu ljekarničkih prijava utječu njihova znanja i stavovi, koji uključuju uvjerenja, osjećaje i ponašanja. Metode. Od 7. do 22. 8. 2018. provedeno je transverzalno opservacijsko istraţivanje meĎu javnim ljekarnicima na području Grada Zagreba, pri čemu je iz 92 ljekarne konvencionalno uzorkovano 188 ljekarnika. U ispitivanju je korišten upitnik sastavljen od 60 čestica o sociodemografskim podacima, znanjima i stavovima povezanim s nuspojavama. U analizi je korištena deskriptivna statistika te neparametrijski χ2-test i parametrijski t-test. Rezultati. Stopa odaziva bila je 71,8%, a istraţivanje je uključilo 106 ljekarnika. Ispitanici pokazuju ukupnu razinu znanja od 88,2%, pri čemu bolje vladaju formalnim znanjima o proceduri nego materijalnim znanjima o sadrţaju prijavljivanja. Unatoč općim pozitivnim trendovima, meĎu ispitanicima su prisutna i negativna uvjerenja poput preuzetnosti (64,2%), osjećaji poput zabrinutosti zbog mišljenja kolega (17,0%) te ponašanja poput kolebljivosti (40,6%). 31,1% ispitanika u posljednjih godinu dana nije prijavilo nijednu nuspojavu, dok ih 51,9% nije sudjelovalo u edukaciji o prijavljivanu nuspojava. Od sociodemografskih čimbenika značajan utjecaj imaju spol, stečena razina obrazovanja i vrsta ljekarne. Zaključak. Javni ljekarnici imaju dobra znanja o prijavljivanju nuspojava, a pokazuju i pozitivna uvjerenja i ponašanja te izostanak negativnih osjećaja. Za jačanje uloge njihove uloge u farmakovigilanciji potrebno je preciznije definiranje forme i materije prijavljivanja te kontinuirana edukacija.Background. Adverse drug reactions (ADR) are one of the major challenges for modern hcare, both from the strictly medical and from the socioeconomic aspect. Spontaneous ADR reporting is part of the answer to this challenge within pharmacovigilance, in which community pharmacists have a unique role due to their specific knowledge and position. The quantity and quality of pharmacists' reporting is influenced by their knowledge and attitudes, which include beliefs, emotions and behaviour. Methods. A cross-sectional observational study was conducted among community pharmacists in the City of Zagreb area from August 7 until August 22, where 188 pharmacists were sampled from 92 pharmacies. A questionnaire cointaining 60 items concerning sociodemographic data, knowledge and attitude towards ADRs was used. Dana analysis was done using descriptive statistics, the non-parametric χ2-test and the parametric t-test. Results. The overall response rate was 71,8%, while the study included 106 pharmacists. Participants displayed an overall knowledge level of 88,2%, having better formal knowledge of the reporting procedure in comparison with the material knowledge of the reporting matter. Despite generally positive trends, several negative beliefs, such as complacency (64,2%), emotions, such as worry about the opinion of colleagues (17,0%), and behaviours, such as reluctance (40,6%), were present among the participants as well. 31,1% of the participants did not report an ADR in the previous year, while 51,9% never participated in education about ADR reporting. Gender, education level and pharmacy type had a significant impact on the results. Conclusion. Community pharmacists have fair knowledge about ADR reporting, while also demonstrating positive beliefs and behaviour and a lack of negative emotions. Better defining of the reporting matter and form, as well as continuous education, is crucial to strengthen their role in pharmacovigilance