Pharmacovigilance in South Africa: Undocumented undergraduate training and practice

Abstract

Pharmacovigilance is a clinical discipline that is gaining more and more attention worldwide and in Africa. The rolling out of large scale programs on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria has heightened the need to step up efforts to have pharmacovigilance concepts to be operationalized in clinical practice. A quick search in PubMed and Google Scholar and a review of available literature was conducted in order to establish whether medical, nursing and pharmacy undergraduate students are taught pharmacovigilance concepts and skills for effective practice.  It seems that there is a paucity of data on the undergraduate training in pharmacovigilance in South Africa. It may be that there might be inadequate training on pharmacovigilance during undergraduate training of medical, nursing and pharmacy students in South Africa. More studies are needed to document the views and experiences of South African students and healthcare professionals on training and practice of pharmacovigilance.