Assessing the impact of structured education on the knowledge of hospital pharmacists about adverse drug reactions and reporting methods in Saudi Arabia: an open-label randomised controlled trial

Ejaz Cheema; Abdulmohsin Abdulaziz Almualem; Abdulmohsen Talal Basudan; AbdulAziz Khalid Salamatullah; Sohaib Omar Radhwi; Ammar Soliman Alsehli

doi:10.1007/s40267-019-00621-z

Assessing the impact of structured education on the knowledge of hospital pharmacists about adverse drug reactions and reporting methods in Saudi Arabia: an open-label randomised controlled trial

Drugs Ther Perspect. 2019;35(6):296-300. doi: 10.1007/s40267-019-00621-z. Epub 2019 Mar 27.

Authors

Ejaz Cheema¹, Abdulmohsin Abdulaziz Almualem², Abdulmohsen Talal Basudan², AbdulAziz Khalid Salamatullah², Sohaib Omar Radhwi², Ammar Soliman Alsehli²

Affiliations

¹ 1School of pharmacy, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT UK.
² 2College of pharmacy, Umm-al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Background: Pharmacists have limited knowledge about adverse drug reactions (ADRs) in Saudi Arabia.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the impact of educational intervention on the knowledge of hospital pharmacists about ADRs.

Methods: This was a 3-month randomized controlled trial conducted in Saudi Arabia between January 2018 and March 2018. Participants in both groups were required to complete an online questionnaire at baseline and at 12-week follow-up. Participants in the intervention group received a structured information sheet about ADRs 2 weeks after the first assessment. The main outcome measure was difference in mean knowledge score about ADRs.

Main outcome measure: Difference in mean knowledge score about ADRs.

Results: A total of 46 participants were included in the study. At the 12-week follow-up, there was a significant improvement in the mean knowledge score (± standard deviation) of intervention participants from 7.67 (± 2.1) at baseline to 11.22 (± 0.4) (95% CI -4.5 to -2.5; p < 0.0001). The mean knowledge score of control participants remained unchanged at 6.71 (± 2.3) during both baseline and follow-up assessments.

Conclusion: ADR-specific education was associated with a significant improvement in the knowledge and understanding of pharmacists about ADRs and their methods of reporting.