IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA PHARMA INFLUENCERS ON DRUG-SAFETY KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES, AND PRACTICES AMONG MBBS STUDENTS: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Background: Social media has emerged as a dominant source of drug- and supplement-related information, with pharmaceutical and wellness influencers often disseminating unverified or promotional content. Medical students, as early trainees, may be particularly susceptible to such misinformation. Objective: To assess the extent of exposure to pharma influencers and evaluate associated knowledge, attitudes, and practices among MBBS students. Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted among 155 MBBS students. The validated survey assessed influencer exposure, drug-safety knowledge, attitudes toward online medical content, and self-reported behaviours. Knowledge differences were analyzed using independent t-tests. Results: Of the participants, 78.1% followed pharma influencers and 89% regularly encountered drug-related posts. Influencer-followers demonstrated significantly lower drug-safety knowledge (mean 3.5 vs 4.6; p = 0.0003). Nearly one-third reported purchasing influencer-promoted products, with adverse effects reported by 22.4% of users. Conclusion: High exposure to pharma influencers is associated with reduced pharmacological literacy and unsafe self-medication practices, underscoring the need for structured digital health literacy training in medical curricula.