Healthcare Professionals' Knowledge, Attitude and Perception toward Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting in Saudi Arabia: A Systematic Review

Aims: To systematically evaluate the currently available evidences about the knowledge, attitude and perceptions of healthcare professionals in Saudi Arabia towards reporting adverse drug reactions to the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (Saudi FDA) as the regulatory authority monitoring adverse drug reactions in the country.

Study Design: Systematic Review.

Methodology: A systematic search of the literature was conducted on ScienceDirect, PubMed, OVID databases as well as Google Scholar for all studies published in English up to June 2023. Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology Joanna Briggs Institute (STROBE) checklist was used to appraise the quality of the cross-sectional studies included in this review.

Results: A total of 27 studies conducted in different healthcare institutions in Saudi Arabia were included in the systematic review. Overall, in the knowledge domain, the awareness of healthcare professionals toward the existence of a national pharmacovigilance adverse drug reaction reporting system ranged from 10% to 95%. In the attitude domain, the belief of the healthcare professionals that reporting adverse drug reaction is a professional obligation ranged from 12.80% to 90.20%. In the perception domain, 46.53% to 100% of healthcare professionals perceive adverse drug reaction reporting has a positive impact on healthcare system and improves patient’s care and quality of life.

Conclusion: Despite having positive attitude toward reporting adverse drug reaction, the healthcare professionals require more education and training in utilizing the Saudi FDA provided adverse drug reaction form and online system to report on the adverse drug reaction that they encounter during their practice.