Assessing the Mental Health, Physical Health, and Well-Being of Doctor of Pharmacy Students

Nguyen, Mimi D.; Stocks, Abby MacCauley; Anksorus, Heidi N.; Harris, Suzanne C.

Assessing the Mental Health, Physical Health, and Well-Being of Doctor of Pharmacy Students

Nguyen, Mimi D.; Stocks, Abby MacCauley; Anksorus, Heidi N.; Harris, Suzanne C.

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Student well-being is a growing area of interest, though existing literature assessing multiple areas of well-being is lacking. This study aimed to evaluate the well-being of pharmacy students corresponding to three well-being domains (physical health, mental health, personal well-being and burnout) and identify characteristics associated with these domains. METHODS: An online survey adapted from various instruments was disseminated to pharmacy students from 11 pharmacy programs. Survey responses were compared using basic descriptive statistics, and Pearson's chi-Square was used for association analyses. RESULTS: Eight hundred thirty-six students from responded to the survey (24.3% response rate). For physical health, 59.3% of students reported sleeping <7  hours per night and 60.4% reported exercising 1 to 5  hours per week. For mental health, 24.8% of students screened positive for depression and 42% screened positive for anxiety. Lastly, 65.9% of students were at risk for decreased well-being and 63.7% for burnout. Based on association analyses, gender and pharmacy year were associated with screening positive for anxiety and burnout, gender was associated with decreased well-being, and relationship status was associated with screening positive for depression. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed pharmacy students are at risk for lack of sleep and exercise, depression or anxiety, decreased well-being, and burnout. Also, several characteristics were found to be associated with these negative well-being outcomes. Although response rate and participant demographics could impact the generalizability of these findings, findings further increase awareness about student well-being and inform pharmacy programs supporting well-being by better understanding student risks.

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Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning
2023
Profession(s)
Pharmacists
Topic(s)
Mental Health
Physical Health & Violence
Burnout
Resource Types
Peer-Reviewed Research
Study Type(s)
Nonexperimental / Observational Study
Action Strategy Area(s)
Physical & Mental Health
Measurement
Setting(s)
Academic
Academic Role(s)
Students