Educational Exposure and Awareness of Pharmacovigilance and Adverse Drug Reactions Among Health Professions Students.

Background: Pharmacovigilance (PV) fundamental to medication safety and effective reporting of adverse drug reactions (ADRs), aimed to assess the level of PV knowledge and awareness among healthcare students in Jordan. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted among 679 undergraduate students from medicine, pharmacy, PharmD, and nursing programs. A structured questionnaire was developed by researchers based on a review of the relevant literature and researchers’ academic and teaching experience in PV and ADRs. The questionnaire was used to collect data on demographics, exposure to PV education, knowledge of ADRs and PV, and attitudes. Descriptive statistics and multiple regression were used for data analysis. Results: While 67.3% reported formal education on ADRs and 41.5% had taken a PV course, only 9.3% correctly defined PV. Pharmacy and PharmD students achieved significantly higher knowledge scores. Age, university type, academic year, and field of study significantly predicted knowledge levels (p < 0.05). Most students acknowledged PV’s role in reducing morbidity and mortality. Conclusion: This study identified important gaps in pharmacovigilance knowledge among undergraduate health-professions students, despite their exposure to pharmacovigilance education. Knowledge varied according to students’ academic and educational characteristics, highlighting the need for stronger and more structured pharmacovigilance education and practical training. Enhancing these components may better prepare future healthcare providers for effective ADR reporting and contribute to improved patient safety.