EFFECTIVENESS OF A STRUCTURED EDUCATIONAL INTERVENTION ON KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE OF PHARMACOVIGILANCE AMONG NURSES

Background: Globally used modern medicines cause various adverse drug reactions (ADR). In order to improve patient safety and welfare, and to reduce patient morbidity and mortality, spontaneous ADR reporting is the need of the hour. Nurses are the first point of contact with patients in any hospital, so their awareness is important to improve the practice of pharmacovigilance. Objectives: To assess the knowledge, attitude, practice and impact of an educational intervention on pharmacovigilance among nurses. Methodology: A cross-sectional observational study done among 86 Nursing officers, employed at a tertiary care teaching hospital in southern Rajasthan. After taking consent, a pre-validated questionnaire comprising of four sections: demographic data, questions to evaluate knowledge, attitude and practice towards pharmacovigilance and ADR forms were provided to the participants and a pre-test was conducted. This was followed by a well-planned overview of Pharmacovigilance Programme of India (PvPI), case-based training session and a post-test. Result: The calculated mean score of questions regarding knowledge, of Pre-test was 2.88 and Post-test was 6.05 out of 8, which on data analysis, using paired-t test, was found to be statistically significant at p<0.05. Individual questions were analysed using chi square test. Conclusion: Adequate sensitisation programmes on a regular basis are needed to meet the need of Pharmacovigilance among Nursing officials.