Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Pharmacovigilance among Ayurveda Doctors Practicing in Wardha, Maharashtra, India: A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs) significantly, cause morbidity and mortality worldwide. As a result, proper ADR monitoring is required. Considering the consequence of this area, the Ministry of AYUSH has introduced a Pharmacovigilance programme for Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Homeopathy (ASU&H) drugs. Every Ayurveda Practitioner’s (AP) immense responsibility is to detect and report ADR.

Aim: To evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and practice of pharmacovigilance among AP in Wardha, Maharashtra, India.

Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in a Government Hospital, Wardha, Maharashtra, India, during March to May 2022. Total 38 Ayurveda Doctors of Wardha city having Bachelor of Ayurvadic Medicine and Surgery (BAMS), Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree, either working in private clinics and hospitals or as medical officers were enrolled in the study. A validated questionnaire was prepared on Google form, circulated through WhatsApp to the doctors, and asked them to fill and submit it within seven days. The collected data were analysed using Microsoft excel 2007 and expressed in percentages (%).

Results: A 28 (73.67%) male, and 10 (26.31%) female doctors possessing BAMS degrees (68.42%) and postgraduate degrees (37.57%), with practice experience between 5-30 years participated in the study. Present study revealed that 32 (84.21%) of the BAMS doctors from Wardha city believed that Ayurveda drugs cause ADRs, and only 7 (18.4%) have encountered ADRs in their practice, of which only 02 (5.26%) reported an ADR.

Conclusion: The present study revealed that AP are well aware about ADR but lacking in the knowledge of its reporting. There is a strong need to organise sensitisation and awareness programmes to implement the pharmocovigilance effectively.