A Multisite, Longitudinal Study Assessing Prevalence of Anxiety in Student Pharmacists

Conduct a multisite, survey-based study assessing rates of self-reported anxiety symptoms among student pharmacists enrolled in the first 3 professional years (PY1 to PY3) of a 4-year Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) curricula.

This study followed a cross-sectional observational design conducted at Washington State University, College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (WSU) and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, College of Pharmacy (UAMS). Student pharmacists in PY1 to PY3 of the PharmD curricula were invited to voluntarily complete the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) scale in order to self-report measures of anxiety. The GAD-7 is a validated 7-item instrument using a 4-point Likert scale.

A total of 2022 surveys were evaluated from PY1-PY3 students at WSU and UAMS over a 5-year period (2019 to 2023). Overall, 882 (43.6%) completed surveys indicated the presence of moderate to severe anxiety according to the GAD-7. When asked about the difficulty of doing work, taking care of things at home, or getting along with other people, 487 (24.1%) respondents indicated "very" or "extremely" difficult using a 4-point Likert scale.

Behavioral and mental health support appears to be needed to support students living with symptoms of anxiety that are impacting life activities. Pharmacy educators should consider proactive approaches to improve mental well-being and support skill development related to anxiety management for student pharmacists. Future studies may include measuring change in student pharmacist anxiety over time with targeted interventions and studies to determine impact on reported levels of anxiety.