Knowledge, awareness, attitude and practice of Indian Homoeopathic Physicians about pharmacovigilance in homoeopathy: A web-based cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Pharmacovigilance (Pv) is the science and activities relating to detecting, assessing, understanding and preventing adverse effects or any other drug-related problems. The subject is essential for developing reliable information on the safety of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy,Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy medicines. Objectives: This study explored the homoeopathic physicians’ knowledge, awareness, attitude and practice (KAAP) towards the Pv programme in homoeopathy. Methods: An online cross-sectional survey was conducted among 274 Indian homoeopathic practitioners for 2 months. The study team developed the questionnaire in consultation with three subject experts and the same was circulated as a generated link among different social media handles. The interested participants consenting to the study were directed to the data collection format through an online portal. The data were collected in four domains: KAAP. Descriptive statistics were used in data analysis and independent t-tests for the subgroup analysis. Results: A total of 274 homoeopathic practitioners were approached, of which 265 consented to fill out the questionnaire, yielding a response rate of 96.7%. Most of the study participants had obtained low scores in knowledge and awareness of the programme. Statistically significant differences were observed among postgraduates and those with prior training in Pv. The attitude towards acceptance of the programme was relatively high among the participants, but the low awareness led to reduced observations and reporting of the adverse drug reactions (ADRs) in homoeopathy. Conclusion: Despite the good attitude of homoeopathic practitioners to the Pv programme, sufficient hands-on training is required to identify and report ADRs in homoeopathy.