BackgroundWork-related stress and burnout syndromes are unfortunately common comorbidities found in health professionals. However, burnout syndrome has only been partly and episodically assessed for community pharmacists whereas these professionals are exposed to patients’ demands and difficulties every day. Prevalence of burnout, associated comorbidities and coping strategies were assessed in pharmacy teams (pharmacists and pharmacy technicians) in French community pharmacies.MethodsThis online survey was performed by emails sent to all French community pharmacies over 3 months. The survey assessed the prevalence of burnout (Maslach Burnout Inventory—MBI—questionnaire), anxiety, depression and strategies for coping with work-related stress.ResultsOf the 1,339 questionnaires received, 1,322 were completed and useable for the analysis. Burnout syndrome was detected in 56.2% of respondents and 10.5% of them presented severe burnout syndrome. Severe burnout syndrome was significantly associated with men, large urban areas and the number of hours worked. Depression and anxiety were found in 15.7% and 42.4% of respondents, respectively. These co-morbidities were significantly associated with severe burnout syndrome. Higher MBI scores were significantly associated with medical consultations and medicinal drug use. Conversely, respondents suffering from burnout syndrome declared they resorted less to non-medical strategies to manage their work-related stress (leisure, psychotherapy, holidays and time off).ConclusionThis study demonstrated that community pharmacists and pharmacy technicians presented high prevalence of burnout syndrome, such as many healthcare professionals. Unfortunately, burnout syndrome was associated with several comorbidities (anxiety, depression and alcohol abuse) and the consumption of health resources. The psychological suffering of these healthcare professionals underlines the necessity to deploy a strategy to detect and manage burnout in community pharmacy.

No abstract

No abstract

This work was part of a pure research project on the functionalization of three families of hydrocolloids: cellulose derivatives, carrageenates, and alginates. Principal component analysis (PCA), a powerful statistical method, was used to demonstrate the relations existing among these different parameters that describe the consistency of hydrogels and their spreadability. This approach therefore provides a basis for modeling hydrogel consistency. PCA also afforded a classification of hydrogels that demonstrated the remarkable adhesiveness of very stiff gels based on cellulose derivatives and sodium or potassium alginates. The corresponding semi-fluid gels and all the gels based on carrageenates and mixed sodium-calcium alginates, whatever their spreadability, were found to be very poorly adhesive. Generalized to all the many colloids currently marketed, this approach can be used to set up a databank for the formulation of mucoadhesive excipients.