Merit Research Journal of Medicine and Medical Sciences (ISSN: 2354-323X) Vol. 8(3) pp. xxx-xxx, March, 2020 Available online http://www.meritresearchjournals.org/mms/index.htm Copyright © 2020 Merit Research Journals Original Research Article Knowledge and Perception of Pharmacovigilance and Adverse Drug Reactions Reporting among Healthcare Professional Students Hind Almodaimegh 1,2 , Shahad Alrammah 1 , Aliyah Alorayyidh 1 , Mazen Almahmoud 1 , Wejdan Alobaidi 1 , Maryam Alharbi 3 and Wesam Abdel-Razaq 1,4* Abstract 1 College of Pharmacy, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh 11481, Saudi Arabia. 2 Pharmaceutical Care Department, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh 11426, Saudi Arabia. 3 College of Nursing, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh 11481, Saudi Arabia. 4 King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh, 11426, Saudi Arabia. *Corresponding Author’s E-mail: razaqw@ksau-hs.edu.sa Phone: +966 114295040 Fax: +966 114295058 This study aimed to assess knowledge and perception of pharmacovigilance in addition to identifying the plausible barriers for employing an effective ADRs reporting system from the perspective of healthcare students. A questionnaire-based survey was conducted among randomly selected students from five healthcare colleges. The overall knowledge score of 367 respondents was 5.1±2.1 (out of 10) that reflects substantial knowledge deficits in principles of pharmacovigilance and ADRs reporting. College of Pharmacy students and students in the third and fourth academic years demonstrated relatively significant higher knowledge scores (7.3±1.6, 5.5±2.1 and 6.2±2.1, respectively) compared to other students. On the other hand, 99.5% of respondents expressed a pronounced negative perception towards pharmacovigilance with an overall mean score of 22.0±3.9 (out of 50).Although, the vast majority of respondents had unanimously agreed on the importance of ADRs reporting, most of them felt unconfident, because they were either uncertain or unprepared to do so. The major recognized barriers for employing an effective ADRs reporting system were knowledge deficits and insufficient training received during academic and internship stages. In conclusion, this study revealed significant knowledge deficits and negative perception among most healthcare students owning to the lack of awareness and deficiencies in the colleges’ program curricula. Keywords: Knowledge, Perception, Pharmacovigilance, Adverse Drug Reactions INTRODUCTION Although drugs are indispensable tool for treating and sometimes for preventing illnesses, they have been always associated with numerous adverse effects and toxicities. According to WHO, an adverse drug reaction (ADR) is a noxious and unintended response to a medication which often occurs at normal doses (World Health Organization 2002). Several studies have confirmed substantial morbidity and mortality due to these unwelcomed ADRs that substantially increase treatment costs and hospital admissions due to the administered drugs (Pirmohamed, James et al., 2004; Alexopoulou, Dourakis et al., 2008). These detrimental effects can eventually affect patients’ quality of life and disturb the therapeutic outcomes of used drugs. These ADRs may occur in any healthcare setting regardless of the taken precautional measurements.