Barriers, Facilitators, Strategies, and Predictors for Reporting Adverse Drug Reactions in three General Hospitals in Jeddah, 2013

Background: Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are the main cause of significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. The identification of barriers, facilitators, strategies, and predictors for reporting ADRs helps in the prevention of ADRs and their potentially harmful consequences.

Objective: This study explored general hospital physicians' opinion to identify the barriers, facilitators, improving strategies, and the most powerful predictors for detecting and reporting of ADRs in three general hospitals of Jeddah city.

Methods: Using stratified sampling technique, 337 physicians were selected from three general hospitals and they were asked to complete a 7-part self-administered questionnaire concerning reporting of ADRs. The research variables of physicians’ demographics and their knowledge, awareness, attitude, and practice (KAAP) towards reporting of ADRs encountered were entered into the best fitting logistic regression model for finding out the best predictors of detection and reporting of ADRs.

Results: Lack of knowledge of ADRs (86.4%) and ADRs reporting process (71.8%), uncertain relationship between ADRs and drug (67.7%), busy schedules and time constraints (53.7%) were the key barriers against reporting ADRs. The important motivators for reporting ADRs were adequate awareness (92.9%), hospital support (89.3%), patient safety concerns (88.1%) and professional responsibility/role (82.5%) of reporting ADRs. Majority of physicians (77.4%) suggested no strategies for improving ADR reporting, and only 16.3% of physicians emphasized on increasing physicians’ awareness and knowledge of reporting ADRs through continued training programs. Consultant job and adequate knowledge of ADRs were the most powerful predictors of recognizing ADRs in practice while consultant job, adequate awareness, ample knowledge of ADRs, and training in ADR reporting were the significant predictors of ADR reporting.

Conclusion: Besides identifying some motivators and improvement strategies for and barriers against ADR reporting, this study found some independent significant predictors of detecting and reporting of ADR in general hospitals. Continuous training of healthcare professionals in adverse drug reactions is considered the best improvement strategy for identifying and reporting of ADRs. Further research is needed in all the general hospitals of Saudi Arabia to capture other predictors, motivators, and improvement strategies for and barriers against ADRs encountering and reporting.