Influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of pharmacists as frontline health providers in Nepal

Background: Pharmacists have been exposed to a wide range of risks due to the COVID-19 epidemic, which have an effect on their psychological health and wellbeing. This study aims to assess the impact of COVID-19 pandemic and work on the mental health and wellbeing and to assess the extent of burnout among the pharmacists. Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey consisting of a questionnaire form that involved mental health and wellbeing with a 16-item Oldenburg Burnout Inventory questionnaire. The Cronbach’s alpha for mental health and wellbeing and OLBI in this very study population is 0.75. Descriptive statistics was applied to calculate frequency, percentage of socio-demographic characteristics while independent sample t-test and one-way ANOVA was used to compare the means between three variables i.e. socio-demographic, mental health and wellbeing and burnout. Pearson’s correlation and linear regression was used to determine the significant association between exhaustion, disengagement, burnout and mental health and wellbeing. Results: Out of 243 participants the COVID-19 pandemic and work was found to have a negative impact on the mental health and wellbeing of a sizable percentage of pharmacists. Participants reported having financial issues in 41.6% of cases and 9.5% considered leaving the profession and were concerned about the provision of service quality and making mistakes at work. In addition, they were found exhausted at the end of a typical working day. There was a significant positive correlation and linear regression between exhaustion, disengagement, burnout and mental health and wellbeing. Burnout affected a significant proportion of participants working in the hospital setting, academic/educational body, enrolled in part-time employment type (p-value<0.05) in comparison to their corresponding items. Conclusion: This study advocates for pharmacists to ensure their mental health and wellbeing in the workplace especially during these crucial times like pandemics. Hence, mitigating measures like adequate training, avoiding long working hours and promoting a safe working environment from government and pharmaceutical organizations play a crucial role to help improve the work environment and take care of the mental health and wellbeing of pharmacists in Nepal.