Measuring and assessing well-being: A cross-sectional study of first- to third-year student pharmacists

Stress may negatively influence the health and academic performance of healthcare professional students and correlates with stress and burnout as a healthcare professional. This study measured student pharmacist well-being and compared the well-being of first- through third-year student pharmacists.

In fall 2019, the investigators administered an online survey to first- through third-year student pharmacists to assess student pharmacist well-being. Items included the World Health Organization-5 Well-being Index (WHO-5) and demographic variables. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were performed. Descriptive statistics were used to measure well-being, and a Kruskal-Wallis H test was used to determine whether there were differences between professional years.

Approximately 64.8% of student pharmacists (n = 248 of 383) completed the survey. Overall, 66.1% of respondents were female (n = 164) and 31% of respondents were Caucasian (n =77), while 31% (n =77) were African American; the majority ranged in age from 24 to 29 years. There was not a statistically significant difference in WHO-5 score between the different classes (P = 0.183), with an average WHO-5 score out of 100 of 38.2 for first-year students, 41.2 for second-year students, and 41.04 for third-year students, showing poor well-being for students in all 3 professional years.

Because of emergent evidence of increased stress and negative outcomes in university students, it is imperative that pharmacy programs expand their efforts in assessment of student pharmacist well-being. While this research manuscript revealed poor well-being in all 3 professional years, it did not identify a statistically significant difference in WHO-5 score between classes. Individualized well-being interventions in all professional years may help students improve their well-being.