Impact of a Pandemic on Resilience Levels within a Health-System Pharmacy By: Dr. Kristen Augustina Korankyi Dr. Shannon Nicole Kraus Dr. Docia Okai
via descriptive statistics.
Key Points: • COVID-19 increased responsibilities of healthcare workers and this study examines its psychological effect on pharmacy staff in a large academic medical center. • There was a slight increase in feelings of depression experienced by the pharmacy team based on a 3.2 point average change on the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9). • Programs to promote resilience such as an online app/website with resilience training tips may help to prevent burnout in pharmacy team members with future studies examining their success. Abstract Purpose: Determine the impact of a pandemic on levels of resilience, burnout, and overall well-being among staff members at a health-system pharmacy. Methods: Participants were emailed a REDCap® IRB approved survey comprised of the validated General Well-Being Index (WBI),
Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9), COVID-19 related questions adapted from the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory and supplemental demographic questions. During the three-week survey collection period, email reminders were sent weekly. Additional supplemental questions solicited current perspectives on resilience and ways to promote employee well-being. Results were analyzed Page 8
Results: 142 staff members responded (with 14 partial responses) resulting in a 90.1% completion rate and a 21.7% survey response rate. The median score for WBI was 2, which is similar to the median score in a national sample of US workers. A WBI score of ≥2 indicates greater risk of adverse outcomes including 2.9-fold higher risk of burnout and 1.8-fold higher risk of severe fatigue. There was no difference in the overall PHQ-9 score based on position within the pharmacy, however, technicians did experience a slightly significant change (~4.4-unit increase) compared to pharmacists (p<0.0401). There were no statistically significant demographic differences reported on WBI. Conclusion: Reported burnout levels among a pharmacy department during a pandemic are similar to US workers surveyed prior to the
