Knowledge and attitudes to reporting adverse drug reactions.

The reporting of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) by health professionals forms an important component of ongoing surveillance of post-marketing drug safety. The extension of responsibility for all health professionals to report ADRs has coincided with national immunization programmes, such as the national childhood immunization, human papillomavirus (HPV), and seasonal and H1N1 influenza programmes. The study objective was to evaluate knowledge of, and attitudes to, reporting ADRs among the professional groups most likely to see suspected reactions to vaccines. This included nursing professionals, whose views have not been included in previous studies. A survey of 91 practice nurses, health visitors, school nurses and GPs working in Ayrshire and Arran during June, July and August 2007 was undertaken. The respondents' knowledge of ADR reporting varied considerably. Although the majority of respondents recognized that it is the responsibility of health professionals to report suspected ADRs, there were lower levels of knowledge about the purpose of the Yellow Card system specifically; less than 50% of the respondents reported good knowledge about the system. The study suggests implications for practice with regard to the implementation of large-scale immunization programmes and potential solutions to under-reporting among these professional groups.