Impact of burnout syndrome on the quality of pharmaceutical care provided by community pharmacists: A pilot study

Abstract

Burnout harms the psychological and emotional well-being of healthcare professionals as well as and their interpersonal relationships. Effective communication is a key factor for successful pharmaceutical care (PhC) and an optimal therapeutic outcome. The objective of this study is to evaluate the relationship between burnout and pharmaceutical care services provided by community pharmacists. An anonymous survey has been conducted among community pharmacists from the area of Varna, Bulgaria. The questionnaire included the burnout assessment tool MBI-HSS (MP) examine professional burnout according to three scales: emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalisation (DP) and personal accomplishment (PA). and low average values in the PA correspond to high levels of burnout symptoms. The pilot study involved 127 masters of pharmacy. The sample mean values in the three burnout scales are: ЕЕ М=26.27; DP М=12.73; PA М=31.25. A considerable share of respondents has reported difficulties in communication: 98% with patients and 73% with healthcare professionals. Lack of time is the most important trigger of burnout (DP; ЕЕ ; PA p<0,05), followed by lack of motivation (DP p=0.017, ЕЕ р=0.002) and lack of financial incentives by the employer (DP р=0.025). Burnout contributes to poor communication with patients (ЕЕ; DP p<0.001) and with other healthcare professionals (ЕЕ; DP p<0.001). High values on the EE and DP scales are an indicator of a decrease in the quality of pharmaceutical care.

Keywords: Burnout, community pharmacists, correlations , pharmaceutical care.