#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) Join the conversation on social mediaFollow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, X, or Bluesky and share your thoughts about the show with the hashtag #DrugSafetyMatters.Got a story to share?We’re always looking for new content and interesting people to interview. If you have a great idea for a show, get in touch!About UMCRead more about Uppsala Monitoring Centre and how we promote safer use of medicines and vaccines for everyone everywhere.

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