Impact of a continuing medical education programme on pharmacovigilance awareness among second-year medical students in an Indian medical college
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46542/pe.2025.251.7682Keywords:
ADR misconception, ADR reporting, Adverse drug reaction, Language test, PvPI, Signal detectionAbstract
Background: Pharmacovigilance is essential for ensuring drug safety by monitoring Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs). However, awareness of ADR reporting among healthcare professionals, including medical students, is often inadequate. This study evaluates the impact of a Continuing Medical Education (CME) program on pharmacovigilance knowledge and ADR reporting awareness among second-year medical students at Mahatma Gandhi Memorial (M.G.M.) Medical College, Indore.
Methods: A pre-post intervention study was conducted with 187 students. The CME programme covered ADR reporting under the Pharmacovigilance Programme of India (PvPI). Data were collected pre- and post-intervention using a structured questionnaire focusing on pharmacovigilance definitions, ADR reporting, signal detection, and ADR misconceptions. Descriptive statistics and paired t-tests were employed to evaluate significant differences in pre-test and post-test scores.
Results: Significant improvements in knowledge were observed after attending the CME programme, particularly in ADR identification (30.43%), ADR reporting methods (29.17%), signal detection (76.56%), and roles of pharmacovigilance organisations (127.40%). Paired t-tests showed statistically significant differences between pre- and post-test scores (p = 0.004).
Conclusion: The CME programme was effective in enhancing pharmacovigilance awareness among medical students, addressing knowledge gaps, and improving ADR reporting practices. Future studies should assess long-term knowledge retention.
References
Cervantes-Arellano, M. J., Castelán-Martínez, O. D., Marín-Campos, Y., Chávez-Pacheco, J. L., Morales-Ríos, O., & Ubaldo-Reyes, L. M. (2024). Educational interventions in pharmacovigilance to improve the knowledge, attitude and the report of adverse drug reactions in healthcare professionals: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Daru: journal of Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, 32(1), 421–434. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40199-024-00508-z
El-Dahiyat, F., Abu Hammour, K., Abu Farha, R., Manaseer, Q., Momani, A., & Allan, A. (2023). The impact of educational interventional session on healthcare providers knowledge about pharmacovigilance at a tertiary Jordanian teaching hospital. Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice, 16(1), 56. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40545-023-00561-0
Ganesan, S., Sandhiya, S., Reddy, K. C., Subrahmanyam, D. K., & Adithan, C. (2017). The Impact of the Educational Intervention on Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Pharmacovigilance toward Adverse Drug Reactions Reporting among Health-care Professionals in a Tertiary Care Hospital in South India. Journal of Natural Science, Biology, and Medicine, 8(2), 203–209. https://doi.org/10.4103/0976-9668.210014
Kalikar, M. V., Dakhale, G. N., & Shrirao, M. (2020). Effect of educational intervention on awareness of pharmacovigilance among medical undergraduates in a tertiary care teaching hospital. Perspectives in Clinical Research, 11(2), 92–96. https://doi.org/10.4103/picr.PICR_16_19
Olsson, S. (2008). Pharmacovigilance training with focus on India. Indian Journal of Pharmacology, 40(Suppl 1), S28–S30. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3038526/
Shrestha, S., Sharma, S., Bhasima, R., Kunwor, P., Adhikari, B., & Sapkota, B. (2020). Impact of an educational intervention on pharmacovigilance knowledge and attitudes among health professionals in a Nepal cancer hospital. BMC Medical Education, 20(1), 179. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-020-02084-7
Shukla, S., Sharma, P., Gupta, P., Pandey, S., Agrawal, R., Rathour, D., Kumar Kewat, D., Singh, R., Kumar Thakur, S., Paliwal, R., & Sulakhiya, K. (2024). Current Scenario and Future Prospects of Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs) Monitoring and Reporting Mechanisms in the Rural Areas of India. Current Drug Safety, 19(2), 172–190. https://doi.org/10.2174/1574886318666230428144120
World Health Organization. (2024). Pharmacovigilance: A guide for regulators. https://www.who.int/teams/regulation-prequalification/regulation-and-safety/pharmacovigilance
