Hospital-based survey of doctors' attitudes to adverse drug reactions and perception of drug-related risk for adverse reaction occurrence

Doctors' attitudes to adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and perception of drug- related risk for ADR occurrence were investigated in four hospitals in Nort hern Italy using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. ADRs were a rel evant concern in medical practice for 80% of the respondents and had been o bserved by 87%. ADRs were perceived to occur in no more than 5% of hospital ized patients and serious ADRs in less than 1%. The response patterns, howe ver, differed according to the ward of work and the year of graduation of t he doctors. Antibacterials, NSAIDs and antiarrhythmics were rated as higher risk drugs, while diuretics, lipid lowering agents, antihistamines, antiem etics and antispasmodics were rated as lower risk drugs. Risk perception wa s dishomogeneous mainly with respect to the ward of work. The estimated fre quency of ADR occurrence, the perception of drug-related risk and previous ADR reporting behaviour were clearly correlated. The present results sugges t that personal factors affect doctors' attitudes to ADRs, perception of dr ug-related risk and ADR reporting behaviour and may thus be relevant in dev eloping and targeting educational strategies aimed at increasing awareness of ADRs and at encouraging ADR reporting. Copyright (C) 1999 John Wiley & S ons, Ltd.