Association of burnout with depression in pharmacists: A network analysis

Mu He; Kuiliang Li; Xuejiao Tan; Lei Zhang; Chang Su; Keyong Luo; Xi Luo; Chang Liu; Mengxue Zhao; Xiaoqing Zhan; Qian Wang; Jing Cen; Jun Lv; Bangbi Weng; Zhengzhi Feng; Lei Ren; Guoyu Yang; Feifei Wang

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1145606

Association of burnout with depression in pharmacists: A network analysis

Front Psychiatry. 2023 Mar 23:14:1145606. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1145606. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Mu He¹, Kuiliang Li², Xuejiao Tan³, Lei Zhang³, Chang Su⁴, Keyong Luo⁵, Xi Luo², Chang Liu⁶, Mengxue Zhao³, Xiaoqing Zhan², Qian Wang⁷, Jing Cen⁷, Jun Lv⁷, Bangbi Weng⁷, Zhengzhi Feng³, Lei Ren⁸, Guoyu Yang^{2

9}, Feifei Wang^{2

9}

Affiliations

¹ Chongqing Medical and Pharmaceutical College, Chongqing, China.
² Department of Medical Psychology, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China.
³ Department of Medical English, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China.
⁴ School of Educational Science, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing, China.
⁵ Department of Psychiatry, The 980th Hospital of PLA Joint Logistics Support Force, Shijiazhuang, China.
⁶ BrainPark, Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health and School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia.
⁷ Department of Pharmacy, The Southwest Hospital of Army Medical University, Chongqing, China.
⁸ Department of Psychology, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China.
⁹ Department of Developmental Psychology for Armyman, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China.

Abstract

Background: Burnout and depression have overlapping symptoms, but the extent of overlap remains unclear, and the complex relationship between burnout and depression in pharmacists is rarely explored.

Methods: We investigated burnout and depression in 1,322 frontline pharmacists, and explored the complex relationship between burnout and depression in those pharmacists using network analysis.

Results: Network analysis showed that there were 5 communities. A partial overlap was found between burnout and depressive symptoms in pharmacists. The nodes MBI-6 (I have become more callous toward work since I took this job), D18 (My life is meaningless), and D10 (I get tired for no reason) had the highest expected influence value. D1 (I feel down-hearted and blue) and D14 (I have no hope for the future) were bridge symptoms connected with emotional exhaustion and reduced professional efficacy, respectively.

Conclusion: A partial overlap exists between burnout and depressive symptoms in pharmacists, mainly in the connection between the emotional exhaustion and reduced professional efficacy and the depressive symptoms. Potential core targets identified in this study may inform future prevention and intervention.

Keywords: comorbidity; depression; job burnout; network analysis; pharmacists.

Grants and funding

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC: 81971278) and National Social Science Fund Project of China (No. 19XSH018). The fund was used for software development to create survey result reports for participants and for facilitating data analysis.