title: An evaluation of knowledge of pharmacovigilance among nurses and midwives in Turkey.
abstract: This study aimed to evaluate the awareness of nurse/midwives regarding pharmacovigilance as well as their knowledge and experience in identifying and reporting adverse reactions of drugs. Nurse/midwives (n = 329), working in four state hospitals, were provided a questionnaire with a view of identifying their knowledge and skills pertaining to pharmacovigilance. Around 45% of the participants claimed to have knowledge of pharmacovigilance but only 23.3% of them could define it correctly. Although 24.3% of the participants acknowledged that adverse reactions should be reported to a centre, only 1.2% of them named this centre (Turkey Pharmacovigilance Centre-TUFAM). The present study indicates that nurse/midwives have insufficient knowledge of pharmacovigilance practices. Hence, it is essential to include pharmacovigilance training in their undergraduate and graduate education programs, and to promote reporting of adverse reactions.
authors.affiliation: Cukurova University Adana Health High School, Midwifery Department, Adana, Turkey.
authors.forename: Sultan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Alan
authors.affiliation: Cukurova University Adana Health High School, Midwifery Department, Adana, Turkey.
authors.forename: Melike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ozturk
authors.affiliation: Cukurova University Adana Health High School, Midwifery Department, Adana, Turkey.
authors.forename: Sule
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gokyildiz
authors.affiliation: Cukurova University Adana Health High School, Midwifery Department, Adana, Turkey.
authors.forename: Burcu
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Avcibay
authors.affiliation: Cukurova University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pharmacology, Adana, Turkey.
authors.forename: Yusuf
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Karataş
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004358:Drug Therapy; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D009721:Nurse Midwives; D009740:Nursing Staff; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014421:Turkey
keywords: Adverse Drug Reaction; Nurse/Midwife; Pharmacovigilance