KNOWLEGDE AND ATTITUDE (or) PERCEPTIONS TOWARDS PHARMACOGENOMICS AMONG MEDICAL STUDENTS AND HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

BACKGROUND - Pharmacogenomics, the science that deals with the study of role of inheritance in the variation in drug response, serves to be a valuable tool in personalising therapy, thereby enhancing therapeutic efficacy and reducing adverse events. Knowledge and awareness is required among the medical fraternity for its appropriate application.OBJECTIVES - To assess the knowledge and attitude (or) perceptions towards pharmacogenomics among medical students and health care providers of Madras Medical College and Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, Chennai- 3.METHODS - A survey was conducted using a semi-structured questionnaire among under-graduate and post-graduate medical students, interns and physicians comprising of 50 participants in each category. Their knowledge were rated based on a scale and the attitudes analysed. RESULTS - Of all the study participants, only 3 percent of them had a good knowledge in pharmacogenomics. 40 percent were rated to have average, 53.5 percent had poor and 3.5 percent had very poor knowledge. Majority of them (65 percent) felt it was ethical to perform genome sequencing before pharmacotherapy and 78 percent were of the opinion that it was required for the Indian scenario. The most commonly reported barrier for pharmacogenomic implementation was economic constraints (52 percent) and others such as lack of awareness, laboratory facilities and ethical issues. Most (78 percent) of them were in favour of extensive incorporation of pharmacogenomic information in the medical curricula.CONCLUSION - The current prevailing knowledge in pharmacogenomics among medical students and healthcare providers is inadequate and various barriers limiting its implementation need to be overcome to aid in optimising drug therapy.