Dr Mohammed Al-Sbou is a professor in Clinical Pharmacology, Pharmacogenomics and Precision Medicine. He has more than 15 years of progressive experience in teaching and conducting research in the field of clinical pharmacology. He held different administrative positions such as Vice Dean for Graduate Studies at Mutah University, Assistant Dean for Basic Medical Sciences. He was the Chairman of the Pharmacology Department. Prof. Al-sbou was the Director of the Pharmacovigilance Center for South Jordan at Al-Karak Governmental Teaching Hospital and the vice chairman of Health and Hazzard Evaluation Committee at the Jordan Food and Drug Administration (JFDA). He is Certified Higher Education Quality Assurance Assessor for Medical Institutions at Higher Education Accreditation and Quality Assurance Commission. His research work focuses on two areas: the first concerns with pharmacogenomics, precision Medicine, and pharmacovigilance. The second has focused on rare genetic disorders. He is the medical director and chairman of alkaptonuria society in Jordan and member in the International Alkaptonuria clinical trial team (DevelopAKUre Project). Prof Al-Sbou is a member of the AKU Society Scientific Advisory Board in the UK to help guide the research into AKU, and foster international collaboration, and to review current research initiatives, propose new directions, and provide feedback on potential clinical trials and drug development programs.
Knowledge, attitude, and practice toward pharmacovigilance (PV) among healthcare providers is strongly associated with the reporting of adverse drug reactions (ADRs). This study was conducted to evaluate knowledge, attitude, and practice toward pharmacovigilance and to identify barriers for ADR reporting among physicians working in public and private hospitals in Jordan. This study was conducted using an online questionnaire in Arabic, designed by members of the Health Hazard Evaluation Committee of the Jordan Food and Drug Administration (JFDA) between August 2016 to December 2017. The questionnaire was completed using Google Forms online. A total of 341 physicians completed the questionnaire online. The rate of reporting of ADRs is low among physicians as only 4.7% have reported an ADR. The majority of physicians had never heard the term PV before. Respondents also lacked awareness of the existence of a PV center in Jordan and were unaware that ADR monitoring is carried out by the JFDA. Although most of the physicians had never seen the ADR form, many had positive attitudes toward reporting ADRs. According to participant responses, the main barriers to reporting are: 1) not knowing how to report; 2) not knowing the importance of reporting; 3) the unavailability of the ADR form; and, 4) general time pressure in the work environment. Although there is a low rate of ADR reporting among physicians, doctors have a positive attitude toward PV and are willing to implement ADR reporting in their practices. More education and training sessions are needed to raise physician awareness and knowledge of PV, and to enhance ADR reporting.