CHAIN - Patient, family and community engagement on medication safety (30 November 2022)

Summary

Regina Kamoga, Executive Director of the Community Health And Information Network (CHAIN) in Uganda, delivered this presentation to the 6th Annual Pharmacovigilance Stakeholder Meeting on 30 November 2022. The presentation outlines how CHAIN is working to develop and support expert patients and patient groups in underserved communities in Africa, as well as highlighting the key medication safety issues faced by these communities, including low health literacy, poor reporting culture and healthcare worker knowledge gaps.

The presentation then looks at how CHAIN implemented the World Health Organization's (WHO) Global Patient Safety Challenge in Ugandan communities through patient engagement and healthcare worker education. To conclude the presentation, Regina makes recommendations to improve medication safety:

• Sustain advocacy for medication safety and become a voice to the voiceless
• Adopt a culture of safety that incorporates the patient as a care team member not a perceived receiver of care
• Build and strengthen networks on patient safety
• Communication and open discussion between healthcare providers and patients to improve patient doctor relationship
• Increase collaboration with civil society organisations and patient organisations
• Adopt Start Early In Life initiative to instil a safety culture early in life
• Establish medication safety multidisciplinary working group
• Patient, family and community engagement should be at the core of key stakeholders interventions

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