Awareness of healthcare professional students towards pharmacovigilance and adverse drug reaction reporting at a Saudi Public University

Medication safety relies on effective pharmacovigilance (PV), but inadequate professional awareness and training contribute to under-reporting of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) which is aggravating a significant global health challenge, but still its implementation in the current healthcare system is lacking. This study aimed to evaluate the understanding of PV and ADRs reporting among the healthcare professional students at King Abdulaziz University (KAU). A cross-sectional questionnaire study of 841 students in six KAU healthcare faculties was conducted between May-December 2024. A validated bilingual survey was provided, and the data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and ordinal logistic regression. With a response rate of 98% from 841 participants, students from medicine (25.9%), pharmacy (20.2%), and other disciplines were engaged in the study but only 10% of students reported being “very familiar” with PV, among them pharmacy students reserved the higher proportion. Most of the students (65.3%) had no prior PV class experience, and 74% didn’t receive any formal PV training, which indicated a need for PV and ADRs education integrated in their curricula. In addition, 63.4% of participants lacked awareness of the official ADRs reporting form, with 60.4% also unsure about which healthcare professionals should submit it. The prevailing attitude toward ADRs reporting was positive, with 84.4% acknowledging its importance to patient care. Statistical analysis identified the academic year and faculty as key factors influencing PV familiarity, revealing that pharmacy students and interns had the highest awareness levels. All healthcare disciplines critically need PV education. Although pharmacy students exhibited the highest awareness of pharmacovigilance and ADR reporting, substantial knowledge gaps persist across all disciplines, especially within non-pharmacy faculties.