Drug Safety & Pharmacovigilance

Purpose: The objective of the study is to assess nurses’ Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) of pharmacovigilance. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study that utilizes a questionnaire to evaluate nurses’ KAP of pharmacovigilance at the University Hospital of the West Indies, Mona. A sample size of 234 nurses was selected using a 95% confidence level with the raosoft online sample size calculator. Data obtained from filled questionnaires were analyzed using the SPSS 20 using descriptive and inferential measures. The chi-square test was used to test the association between two attributes at a P<0.05 significant level. Results: 209 responses were received from 260 distributed questionnaires, giving an 80% response rate. 13.5% of the nurses had heard of the term pharmacovigilance prior to the study. 58.4% correctly stated the functions of pharmacovigilance. Results for attitude towards pharmacovigilance revealed 93.7% of the nurses felt it was a professional obligation to report Adverse Drug Reactions (ADR). 55.3% of nurses indicated they had reported an ADR. A χ2 test of independence was performed to determine an association between nurses who noted ADRs in clinical practice and nurses who reported ADRs. Results showed a significant association between these two variables, χ2 (1) = 86.642, p<0.05. Conclusion: This study concludes that the registered nurses at UHWI had a good attitude towards pharmacovigilance, although their knowledge and practice was limited. Recommendation from the study includes instituting pharmacovigilance training programs that will improve nurses’ knowledge and hopefully impact their practice.