ADVERSE DRUG REACTIONS REPORTING: A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF THE PRACTICE AMONG COMMUNITY PHARMACISTS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

ABSTRACT

Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) continue to be a global health concern, causing an enormous impact on treatment outcomes, increased hospital admission rates, morbidity and mortality rates, raised therapy costs, lower quality of life, and lower patient satisfaction with healthcare. The aim of this review was to assess the practice of adverse drug reactions reporting among community pharmacists in Nigeria. The study's objective was to review the practice of adverse drug reaction reporting among community pharmacists in Nigeria. A comprehensive electronic search on published articles, from 2002 to 2024, on adverse drug reactions reporting among community pharmacists and related issues was conducted. Searches were performed on PubMed, Cochrane libraries, Google and Semantic Scholar. Advanced Boolean searches were utilized for focused results, limited to English language articles.  Several barriers including but not limited to inadequate knowledge about ADRs, inadequate training and inefficient procedures, have resulted in low ADR reporting rates within this crucial cohort. Community pharmacists in Nigeria play a crucial role in the country's pharmacovigilance efforts by reporting adverse drug reactions, which guarantee the continued safety and effectiveness of drugs used by the populace. It is possible to greatly increase community pharmacists' involvement in adverse drug reactions reporting by eliminating the identified barriers through focused education, streamlining the reporting procedure, improving feedback systems, and creating a supportive regulatory environment

ABSTRACT

Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) continue to be a global health concern, causing an enormous impact on treatment outcomes, increased hospital admission rates, morbidity and mortality rates, raised therapy costs, lower quality of life, and lower patient satisfaction with healthcare. The aim of this review was to assess the practice of adverse drug reactions reporting among community pharmacists in Nigeria. The study's objective was to review the practice of adverse drug reaction reporting among community pharmacists in Nigeria. A comprehensive electronic search on published articles, from 2002 to 2024, on adverse drug reactions reporting among community pharmacists and related issues was conducted. Searches were performed on PubMed, Cochrane libraries, Google and Semantic Scholar. Advanced Boolean searches were utilized for focused results, limited to English language articles.  Several barriers including but not limited to inadequate knowledge about ADRs, inadequate training and inefficient procedures, have resulted in low ADR reporting rates within this crucial cohort. Community pharmacists in Nigeria play a crucial role in the country's pharmacovigilance efforts by reporting adverse drug reactions, which guarantee the continued safety and effectiveness of drugs used by the populace. It is possible to greatly increase community pharmacists' involvement in adverse drug reactions reporting by eliminating the identified barriers through focused education, streamlining the reporting procedure, improving feedback systems, and creating a supportive regulatory environment