title: Pharmacy students' knowledge and perceptions about pharmacovigilance in Malaysian public universities.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess senior pharmacy students' knowledge of and perceptions about pharmacovigilance and reporting of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) at 5 public universities in Malaysia.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study was conducted between December 1, 2010, and January 31, 2010, using a validated self-administered questionnaire delivered to a sample of 510 final-year (fourth-year) pharmacy students at 5 Malaysian public universities.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Four hundred twenty-one (84%) students responded to the survey. About 60% (n = 240) indicated that they had taken courses on the concept of pharmacovigilance during their current pharmacy curriculum. The mean score for knowledge about pharmacovigilance and ADR reporting was 6.9 ± 1.4. There was a significant difference in the mean scores for knowledge about pharmacovigilance across the 5 universities. The majority (82.3%) of respondents felt it was necessary to confirm the causal relationship between the drug and the ADR. About 57.8% (n = 241) of the respondents believed that pharmacy students are competent and capable of reporting ADRs during their clerkships. The majority (87.0%) of respondents perceived that pharmacy students should be taught how to report ADRs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of this study demonstrate that the majority of final-year pharmacy students in Malaysian public universities have insufficient knowledge about pharmacovigilance and ADR reporting.
authors.affiliation: School of pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia. edriph@gmail.com
authors.forename: Ramadan Mohamed
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Elkalmi
authors.forename: Mohamed Azmi
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Hassali
authors.forename: Mohamed Izham M
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Ibrahim
authors.forename: Riyanto T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Widodo
authors.forename: Qais M A
authors.initials: QM
authors.lastname: Efan
authors.forename: Muhammad Abdul
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Hadi
mesh_terms: D016907:Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting Systems / Q000458:organization & administration; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003479:Curriculum; D004512:Education, Pharmacy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008296:Malaysia; D008297:Male; D060735:Pharmacovigilance; D013339:Students, Pharmacy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult