Assessment of Awareness on Haemovigilance Among Health Care Professionals

Haemovigilance is a set of surveillance rules which envelops the whole transfusion chain (from the collection of blood and its components to the follow-up of recipients), purporting to collect and assess information on emergent or inexpedient effects resulting from the therapeutic use of labile blood products, and to avoid their occurrence or recurrence. The aim of the study was to assess the awareness of haemovigilance among the different healthcare professionals in Hyderabad, Telangana India. The study is a cross sectional survey among different healthcare professionals including doctors, pharmacist, nurse, pharmacy faculty, biomedical professional, hospital administrator, drug store incharge and students of Pharm-D, B.Pharm, M.Pharm. Data was collected from 534 professionals with a response rate of 95%. In order to maximize the rate and minimize the response bias the questionnaire was administered personally to each participant. Different distinguished professionals of health care were participated in our study. Majority of them were doctors (n = 126, 23.6%), professional pharmacy faculty (n = 97, 18.16%), staff nurse (n = 78, 14.60%), hospital administrators (n = 25, 4.68%), biomedical professional (n = 15, 2.81%), drug store in charge (n = 13, 2.43%), followed by students of Doctor of pharmacy (n = 60, 11.24%), M.pharmacy (n = 60, 11.24%), B.pharmacy (n = 60, 11.24%). To conclude, an active transfusion committee should be introduced, which can control the process to correct protocols and practices when deficiencies are identified and which also participate in local and regional audits. The haemovigilance program should be in a place which can work in collaboration with local committees to collect on a national basis the data on transfusion related adverse reactions.