Evaluation of Pharmacovigilance Reporting Practices Among Healthcare Workers in Sokoto State

Pharmacovigilance and adverse drug reaction (ADR) reporting are essential components of drug safety monitoring, yet underreporting remains a major challenge in Nigerian healthcare settings. This study evaluated knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding ADR reporting among healthcare workers at a teaching hospital in Sokoto State, North West Nigeria. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 180 healthcare workers including doctors, nurses, and pharmacists. A pretested, structured questionnaire assessed awareness of the National Pharmacovigilance Centre, knowledge of reporting procedures, experiences with suspected ADRs, and barriers to reporting. Results showed that 67.8 percent of respondents had encountered suspected ADRs in practice. However, only 22.2 percent had ever submitted a formal ADR report to the National Pharmacovigilance Centre. Knowledge of reporting forms and procedures was adequate in only 35.6 percent of respondents. The most frequently cited barriers to reporting were insufficient knowledge of reporting channels (48.9 percent), uncertainty about causality assessment (43.3 percent), and heavy workload (39.4 percent). Pharmacists had the highest reporting rates among the three professional groups. The study concludes that ADR reporting in Sokoto State healthcare facilities is critically deficient despite reasonable awareness of ADRs in clinical practice. Recommendations include structured pharmacovigilance training programmes, mandatory undergraduate pharmacovigilance education, and the establishment of facility-level ADR reporting focal persons.

Keywords: pharmacovigilance, adverse drug reactions, ADR reporting, Sokoto State, drug safety