··········································································································································································· 49 2015 Feb; 4 (2): 49-53 ISSN 2322-3308 http://www.journalbio.com Received: 15 November 2014 • Accepted: 18 December 2014 Research doi:10.15412/JBTW.xxxx Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting among Iranian Pharmacists: Investigation of Barriers and Attitudes Mehdi Mirzaei Alavijeh 1 , Noozhan Karimi 2 , Behzad Karami Matin 3 , Sadaf Nezamoleslami 4 , Sahar Ahmadvand 5 , Afsoon Vahdat 6* , Mohammad Mahboubi 7,8 1 Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Yasuj University of Medical Sciences, Yasuj, Iran 2 School of Dentistry, Shiraz University of Medical Science, Shiraz, Iran 3 Department of Public Health, School of Health, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran 4 Student Research Committee, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran 5 School of Industrial Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran 6 Clinical Research Development Center, Imam Reza Hospital, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran 7 Abadan School of Medical Sciences, Abadan, Iran 8 Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran *correspondence should be addressed to Afsoon Vahdat, Clinical Research Development Center, Imam Reza Hospital, Kermanshah Universi- ty of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran; Tell: +988138380398; Fax: +988138380026; Email: Afsoon.Vahdat@yahoo.com. ABSTRACT Adverse drug reaction (ADR) has been known as a main reason to mortality, which pushes a significant pressure on health care resources; in addition reporting ADR could be helpful to decrease the consequences. The present study aimed to de- termine the attitude and barriers of not reporting ADR cases among a group of Iranian pharmacologists. This cross- sectional study was conducted among 117 pharmacists during 2014. Participants were selected in random sampling with probability proportional to size among pharmacy in the west of Iran. Data were collected by using questionnaire in self- report. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 21 using t statistical tests and bivariate correlations. Mean score of the ADR report barriers was 17.82 years (ranging from 7 to 35 years). Lack of motivation, not having report forms available, ineffi- ciency of reporting and lack of investigations received higher scores as major barriers. Also, increasing the trust between pa- tients and pharmacist, decreasing health care system charges and efficiency had the highest mean scores considering atti- tudes. Generally, there was a meaningful statistical relationship between reporting ADR by pharmacist and barriers (P = 0.007). According to the results from the present study, it seems essential to hold retraining programs in order to improve reporting ADRs by pharmacists, introducing advantages of reporting ADRs and removing barriers to report ADRs. Key words: Adverse Drug Reaction, Pharmacist, Barrier Copyright © 2015 Mehdi Mirzaei Alavijeh et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License. 1. INTRODUCTION onsidering the definitions by WHO adverse drug reaction includes all negative, random and unex- pected effects a drug may have on human which could be observed in doses used to prevent diagnosis and treatment (1). Studies showed that 2.6 to 5.6 percent of receptions in hospitals were due to ADR and almost 35 percent of admitted patients in hospitals had the experience of ADRs (2). Immediate reporting of undesirable reactions of basic and fundamental drugs is a part of drug safety studies; it should be mentioned that it is easy and reasona- ble to implement the system which includes all drugs and patients. However, the major problem in this system is lack of reports on consequences and no estimations of ADR outbreaks (3, 4). It was estimated that only 6 to 10 percent of all ADRs were reported (5). Results of a study showed that 81 percent of specialists diagnosed ADRs, but did not report them (6). Avoiding reporting ADRs is a common problem in drug care programs (7, 8). Unfortunately, it has not been considered efficiently in Iran; adverse drug reac- tion monitoring center (ADRMC) in Iran started its activity since 1998 as a major member of WHO drug monitoring program, and 17967 ADRs were collected and evaluated until 2009, though according to WHO scales it is still smaller than the standards (9). Pharmacists as the first in- dividuals facing treatments with drugs are evaluated and studied to efficiently and safely use drugs; their knowledge over drugs enables them to efficiently participate in report- C