Perception of Nigerian medical students on adverse drug reaction reporting

Spontaneous reporting (SPR) and intensive monitoring are the conventional systems used for detecting, recording, and reporting adverse drug reactions (ADRs). Using spontaneous reporting a lot of successes has been made as existing ADRs were identified and new ones prevented through this methods. The aim of this appraisal was to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and the practice of medical students with regards to ADRs reporting and to see if differences exist between the level of study and genders. The questionnaire was adopted, modified, and validated from previous studies. It comprised of 25 questions. It was administered year-IV and V medical students of Bayero University Kano, Nigeria. The data collected were coded and analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20, currently known as IBM SPSS Statistics. The response rate was 74%. Among the 108 participants, 80% got the definition of ADRs correct; 63% of them knew the precise functions of pharmacovigilance (PV). In addition, 82% strongly agreed that ADR reporting is health care workers responsibility; 82% also said PV should be taught in detail. Meanwhile, 99% have noticed patient experiencing ADRs; 67% said even mild ADRs should be reported. The outcome of this study showed good knowledge and attitude with respect to ADRs and PV among the medical students surveyed. Unfortunately, the practice of medical students was found to be unsatisfactory. There is a need to upgrade the students teaching the curriculum with respect to ADRs monitoring.