A Systematic Review of Healthcare Professionals' Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Regarding Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting in Ethiopia

ADRs (Adverse drug reactions) are a prominent cause of morbidity and mortality, as well as higher healthcare expenditures. Healthcare professionals (HCPs) play a crucial role in ADRs reporting through spontaneous reporting system, but under-reporting is its major limitation. The goal of this study is to evaluate HCPs' knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) regarding ADR reporting, as well as the factors that influence reporting, using research papers that are currently available. A literature search was conducted using sources such as PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar to find studies that evaluated HCPs' KAP regarding ADR reporting in Ethiopia. A systematic review protocol- PRISMA was used to conduct this review. Demographic factors, sample size, response rate (RR), survey delivery, HCPs working setting, were extracted information from articles. A total of 17 articles included in the systematic review out of 384. The number of HCPs in the included studies ranged from 62 to 708. RR ranges from 76.1% to 100%. The majority of the research included in this evaluation looked at HCPs who worked in hospitals. When pharmacists were compared to other HCPs, they were more likely to report ADRs because they had higher knowledge, attitude, and practice. Lack of understanding, unavailability of reporting forms, uncertainty about the causal relationship between the drug and ADR, and failure to report because the ADR was well-known were among the common hurdles to ADR reporting identified in research. To improve reporting, educational initiatives and continued training in pharmacovigilance (PV) and ADR are frequently recommended considerations. In Ethiopia, there is a pressing need to close the gap in HCP KAP regarding PV and ADR reporting. It is suggested that specific educational interventions based on existing gaps in ADR reporting be developed and integrated into the health education curriculum or provided as in-service training after graduation.