Work fatigue among Lebanese community pharmacists:
prevalence and correlates
Abstract
Objective: To assess work fatigue and its associated factors among community pharmacists in Lebanon.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted between March and July 2018. A proportionate sample of 435 community
pharmacists was selected from all regions of Lebanon. A standardized self-administered questionnaire, distributed by trained
interviewers, was used to assess the studied variables.
Results: The results showed that 50.12% of the pharmacists had emotional work fatigue [95%CI 0.454-0.549], 55.01% had mental work
fatigue [95%CI 0.503-0.597], and 54.78% had physical work fatigue [95%CI 0.501-0.595]. Higher mental work fatigue was significantly
associated with higher stress (Beta=0.185) and having a master’s degree compared to a bachelor’s degree (Beta=2.23). Higher
emotional work fatigue was significantly associated with higher stress (Beta=0.219), working more than 40 hours compared to ≤ 16
hours (Beta=2.742), and having 6 months to less than 1 year of practice compared to less than 6 months (Beta=-5.238). Higher physical
work fatigue was significantly associated with higher stress (Beta=0.169) and having better soft skills (Beta=-0.163).
Conclusions: Work-related fatigue is high among community pharmacists and touches all aspects: physical, mental, and emotional. In
our study, community pharmacists’ fatigue levels were associated with educational level, years of experience, working hours, stress,
depression, and soft skills, while no relation was found with gender, age, position in the pharmacy, and economic status. Interventions
are recommended to tackle this public health problem that affects pharmacists, and eventually, patients.
Keywords
Pharmacists; Occupational Stress; Fatigue; Depression; Professional Practice; Pharmacies; Community Pharmacy Services; Risk Factors;
Multivariate Analysis; Lebanon
Author(s)
deema wafic rahme
Coauthor(s)
nathalie lahoud
Journal/Conference Information
Pharmacy Practice,DOI: https://doi.org/10.18549/PharmPract.2020.2.1844, ISSN: 1885-642X, Volume: 18, Issue: 2, Pages Range: 1-7,