Babita Sheoran

and 5 more

Background: The study examines critical role of school teachers in executing National Deworming Day (NDD) and their awareness of adverse drug reaction (ADR) reporting. The study aims to evaluate teachers’ knowledge and attitudes on ADR reporting to improve pharmacovigilance during NDD, ensuring children’s safety during preventative chemotherapy with Albendazole. Method: After prior approval from Institutional Ethics Committee, a total of 164 participants were selected from 20 cluster heads overseeing 94 schools. The study utilized a validated questionnaire, scored on a binary system (0-10). Employing a prospective quasi-experimental one group pre-test and post- test research design, the primary aim was to evaluate the impact of the awareness program, with secondary objectives focused on demographic correlations with program effectiveness. Results: The study shows a significant improvement in participants’ scores from the pre-test (mean score of 5.60) to the post-test (mean score of 8.28), resulting in a mean deviation of -2.681 (t = -19.7, p < .001), suggesting that the intervention significantly enhanced outcomes. Additionally, the results indicate that the mean post-test score was slightly higher among urban participants compared to rural participants, with mean scores of 8.45 and 8.10, respectively. Conclusion: The sensitisation programme significantly improved awareness among school teachers engaged in NDD regarding ADR reporting, as evidenced by the substantial increase in post-test scores compared to pre-test scores. However, further studies with larger sample size are needed to corroborate these findings.