“Adverse drug reaction reporting” knowledge, attitude and practices of community pharmacy dispensers in Dar es salaam, Tanzania

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background: Under reporting of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) by healthcare personnel is a common problem of many Pharmacovigilence programs. Lack of involvement of healthcare professionals such as pharmacists and other pharmaceutical dispensers has been cited as one of the reasons for under reporting. Pharmaceutical dispensers in the community pharmacies are in unique position by virtue of their training and profession to observe ADRs in patients, as many patients often try to avoid doctor consultation fees by visiting community pharmacies. The knowledge and ability of dispensers in Tanzanian community pharmacies to identify and report ADRs is however unknown. Study objective: To determine the knowledge, attitude and practices of dispensers in community pharmacies in Dar es Salaam towards the ADRs reporting. Methodology: A descriptive cross sectional survey was conducted involving 254 dispensers from selected retail pharmacies in Dar es Salaam region. SPSS version 16 was used for data entry, cleaning and subsequently analysis. Results: The majority of personnel working in community pharmacies are non pharmaceutical professionals i.e 52% were nurse assistants. Community dispensers have limited knowledge and practices with regard towards ADRs reporting. Only 13.8% of respondents had good ADRs reporting knowledge, while only 8.7% had ever submitted ADRs reports to the relevant authorities. There was a significant difference in the level of knowledge with regard to ADRs reporting between Pharmaceutical professionals (i.e Pharmacists, Pharmaceutical technicians and pharmaceutical assistants) and non Pharmaceutical professionals (P value = 0.000). The knowledge levels correlated positively with profession and attendance of continuous professional education courses (CPE). The majority of dispensers (68.9%) however had a positive attitude towards ADRs reporting. Conclusion and Recommendations: Community pharmacies dispensers in Dar es Salaam have limited knowledge and experience with regard to ADRs reporting. Thus community pharmacies in Dar es Salaam cannot presently act as centres to collect data on ADRs effectively. The staffing of community pharmacies with unqualified pharmaceutical professionals is the main reason for the lack of knowledge, thus sincere and sustained efforts should be made by the Government through its National Regulatory Authorities and Schools of Pharmaceutical Sciences to ensure that there is an increased output of vii pharmaceutical professionals in Tanzania, ADRs reporting forms and guidelines are available in community pharmacies and that continuous professional education is provided to in-service pharmaceutical professionals to improve their ADRs reporting capabilities.