Influence of COVID-19 on Health-Related Quality of Life and the Perception of Being Vaccinated to Prevent COVID-19: An Approach for Community Pharmacists from Romania and Bulgaria

Abstract

Community pharmacists are essential front-line health workers, involved in relieving the COVID-19 burden. Their health-related quality of life status needs to be assessed, as lower levels could affect their functioning. In order to evaluate the current status of community pharmacists’ quality of life from Romania and Bulgaria during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to identify factors associated with their decision on being vaccinated to prevent COVID-19, an online survey involving 395 community pharmacists was conducted from July 15th, 2020 to August 15th, 2020. The 15D instrument was used for quality-of-life assessment. The pharmacists’ recommendations for vitamin C and D intake during the COVID-19 pandemic were also analyzed in order to promote future training programs for community pharmacists. Descriptive statistics, comparative analyses between pharmacists from Romania and Bulgaria, and multiple correlation analyses were performed on the collected data. Significant differences were observed for the level of quality of life between the two groups of pharmacists according to their age; smaller values, directly correlated with their age (total 15D score and age: Spearman r = 0.168, p = 0.022), were obtained for Bulgarian pharmacists regarding sleeping, usual activities, mental function, discomfort and symptoms, depression, distress. The perception of being vaccinated did not differ between Romanian and Bulgarian pharmacists, as almost 50% agreed to vaccination (p = 0.7542). Their willingness to vaccinate was correlated with vitamin D usage (p = 0.0134), rather than with vitamin C (p = 0.4157). No other significant associations were found between willingness to get vaccinated to prevent COVID-19 and other characteristics (age, gender, income, quality-of-life markers). Evidence-based interventions are required to enhance the health-related quality of life of community pharmacists involved in the first line of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Knowledge and Perceptions about COVID-19 among Health Care Workers: Evidence from COVID-19 Hospitals during the Second Pandemic Wave

“…Knowledge regarding isolation after exposure to a COVID-19 patient was inadequate and diverged between HCWs of the same hospital and between the participating hospitals. Interestingly, the expressed willingness for COVID-19 vaccination was around 71%, in accordance with other European studies [ 19 , 20 ], but was higher compared to other studies performed in healthcare professionals, that show a willingness for vaccination of about 50% [ 21 ].…”

Mediating Effect of Burnout on the Association between Work-Related Quality of Life and Mental Health Symptoms

“…Although most of the Portuguese working population operates in the tertiary sector, its overrepresentation in our sample might be related to another limitation; that is, the fact that only those with access to the internet were able to answer. Additionally, the fact that the survey did not focus on a specific professional group, such as physicians [ 55 ] or pharmacists [ 56 ], but on a wide range of different occupations, hinders a more precise discussion of the practical implications. Finally, given that the questionnaire was made available online, the study’s characteristics raise questions regarding the possible influence of selection bias.…”

Post-Lockdown Effects on Students’ Mental Health in Romania: Perceived Stress, Missing Daily Social Interactions, and Boredom Proneness

“…Studies related to the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak on students' mental health in Romania are limited [58]. While many studies analyse the general population's perception of the pandemic [59], different population groups' attitudes and responses to the restrictive measures [60,61], and the influence of the pandemic on the economy [62] or quality of life [63], few studies have focused on its psychological impact [64].…”