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Health Care Professionals' Knowledge of the Pharmacogenetics of Analgesics Used for Pain Management in Cameroon: A Cross-Sectional Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Study

DOI : https://doi.org/10.36349/easjacc.2026.v08i05.005
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Background: Pharmacogenetic variability in drug-metabolizing enzymes influences individual response to analgesics, affecting both efficacy and adverse-effect risk. Health care workers' knowledge of this variability is central to safe, individualized pain management. This study assessed their knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding analgesic pharmacogenetics, with emphasis on knowledge relevant to individualized pain management. Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study among 112 health care workers using a self-administered, bilingual (French/English) questionnaire. A nine-item objective knowledge score was built; attitudes and practices were rated on four-point scales. Associations were tested with the Kruskal-Wallis test, the Mann-Whitney U test, and Spearman correlation. Results: Mean knowledge score was 5.0 ± 1.2/9, moderate in 57.1% of participants and good in only 8.9%. While 93.8% recognized a link between pharmacogenetics and analgesic efficacy, only 8.9% identified the four metabolizer phenotypes and 27.7% understood that identical dosing may be inappropriate across patients. Knowledge score differed by qualification (p=0.027) and was strongly associated with prior awareness (p<0.001). Attitudes were favorable to neutral in 93.8% of respondents, while practice scores remained low in 60.7%. Conclusion: Health care workers understand the principle of pharmacogenetics but not its practical application (metabolizer phenotypes, dose adjustment), limiting the safety of pain management. Targeted training is needed.

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