#37 Beyond numbers: quality in ADR reporting – Henry Zakumumpa

Spontaneous adverse event reporting from healthcare professionals
and patients is a cornerstone in pharmacovigilance systems.
Unfortunately, it is a well-known issue that only a fraction of
events is reported. To further complicate matters, poor quality
reports present a significant challenge for pharmacovigilance
assessors. In Uganda, several new routes have been introduced to
facilitate reporting for patients and healthcare professionals,
including email, WhatsApp and the Med Safety smartphone app.
Henry Zakumumpa is a researcher at Makerere University in
Kampala, Uganda. He has recently performed a qualitative study to
learn more about drivers and obstacles for quality in adverse
event reporting from patients and healthcare professionals in
Uganda. He joins the Drug Safety Matters studio to help us get a
more nuanced picture of challenges and opportunities around the
issue.
 
 


Tune in to find out:


Why are HIV patients in Uganda reluctant to report adverse
events to their healthcare providers?

What are the challenges with reporting via WhatsApp?

How can regulators and PV centres foster better quality in
incoming adverse event reports?



 


Want to know more?


Listen to Henry talk about the safety of HIV medications in
this 2022 episode of Drug Safety Matters.

Visit this CARTA (Consortium for Advanced Research Training
in Africa) profile page to learn more about Henry’s research.

Improving the spontaneous reporting of suspected adverse drug
reactions: An overview of systematic reviews (British Journal of
Clinical Pharmacology, 2023)

Improving adverse drug event reporting by healthcare
professionals (Cochrane Database Systematic Review, 2024)






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