Implementing an educational intervention to improve healthcare professionals' knowledge, attitudes, and intent to report adverse drug reactions

Background: Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) have negative impacts on patient clinicaloutcomes and healthcare costs. While policies are in place at both institutional and professional- society levels, many healthcare professionals (HCP) are unaware about ADRs reporting. The purpose of this quality improvement project is to provide an educational intervention to HCPs in order to improve their knowledge, attitudes, and intent to report ADRs.Methods: This project was conducted using pre-/post- test design. The A multi-faceted educational intervention including lectures, information handouts, and case studies was implemented in a large academic medical center, where participants were recruited using convenience sampling. Pre and post surveys were used to assess provider's knowledge, attitudes, and intent to report ADRs. Paired t-test for parametric data and the Wilcoxon signed rank test for non-parametric data were used to compare scores obtained pre and post surveys.Results: A total of 50 HCPs participated in the multi-faceted educational activities. The majority of participant were nurses. The intervention significantly improved knowledge (t = 2.009, p<0.0001) and some attitudes among HCPs (p<0.05). Most HCPs (98%) reported their intent to report future ADRs.Conclusions & Implications: This DNP project shows that providing education to HCPs on ADR reporting is effective in increasing their knowledge and impacting their intent to change practice. Future research should explore whether an increase in ADR reporting can be translated into reduced negative clinical outcomes and improved patient's safety.