Consumer views on the use of digital tools for reporting adverse drug reactions: a cross-sectional study

Background: The application of digital technologies has shown benefits in enhancing pharmacovigilance activities but consumers views on the use of these tools for this purpose are not well described.

Aim: To explore consumers' views on using digital tools to report adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and identify key features that consumers want in digital tools for ADR reporting.

Method: An online survey was conducted among adults who had taken medicine in the previous six-months in Australia. The development of questions was guided by the Combined Technology Acceptance Model and Theory of Planned Behaviour (C-TAM-TPB) framework. Responses to closed-ended questions were analysed using descriptive statistics and chi-square/Fisher's exact test, while free-text responses were analysed using qualitative content analysis.

Results: A total of 494 responses were included in the analysis. Eighty-seven percent of respondents preferred using digital tools for reporting ADRs. Consumers indicated a free-text space for describing ADRs (90%) as important or very important features of digital tools for ADR reporting, followed by acknowledgement of their report submission (87%) and receiving summary of previously reported ADRs (87%). Women (p < 0.001), advanced smartphone users (p < 0.001), and previous digital healthcare tool users (p = 0.017) showed higher intention to use digital tools. Consumers emphasized the importance of ease-of-use, accessibility, receiving medicine safety information, feedback, and advice for reporting ADRs via digital tools.

Conclusion: Consumers prefer using digital tools for reporting ADRs and place high value on features such as a free-text space for describing ADRs, acknowledgement of report submissions, and access to summaries of previously submitted reports.