An exploratory study of knowledge, attitudes, practice and barriers towards adverse drug reaction reporting among healthcare professionals in Malta

BACKGROUND: Understanding knowledge and attitudes of health care professionals (HCPs) towards adverse drug reaction (ADR) reporting can inform educational interventions promoting ADR reporting. OBJECTIVE: To explore knowledge, attitudes, practice, and barriers of local HCPs towards ADR reporting. METHODS: Focus groups involving HCPs from different settings were organized to help develop a questionnaire. The questionnaire was validated and disseminated to pharmacists, physicians, dentists and nurses practicing in Malta. A review of ADR reports reported in Malta from 2004 to 2021 was carried out to contextualise questionnaire findings. RESULTS: Overall, HCPs (n = 374) had good knowledge on pharmacovigilance and a positive attitude towards ADR reporting however nurses were found to be less knowledgeable than physicians, dentists, and pharmacists. The main barrier for not reporting ADRs was difficulty to understand whether an adverse event occurred (n = 187). A total of 2581 ADR reports were reported in Malta. Among HCPs, physicians and dentists reported most ADRs (1060 reports), followed by pharmacists (307 reports) and nurses (257 reports). CONCLUSION: Further ADR educational and promotional efforts are needed to increase awareness on the importance of quality ADR reporting and increase the number of ADR reports reported by local HCPs.