MENTAL HEALTH CHALLENGES AMONG NURSING HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY OF STRESS, ANXIETY, ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE, AND PHARMACIST PERSPECTIVES ON PRECISION MEDICINE AND TARGETED THERAPIES

Abstract

Background: Occupational stresses that impact negatively on the mental state of health care professionals are very common. Health care practitioners including nurses, pharmacists, doctors, and allied health professionals are constantly faced with heavy workloads, emotional exhaustion, staff shortage, and increased clinical duties. At the same time, there are many developments taking place in oncology field especially in terms of targeted and precision medicine. These factors might increase the stress levels of pharmacists and other health care professionals impacting their academic and professional performance.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of stress and anxiety experienced by health care professionals employed at large tertiary hospitals in Punjab and Islamabad and the views of pharmacists on precision medicine and targeted therapy for cancer treatment. The study also focused on the relation between psychological stress and professional performance.

Methodology: The present research is a multicenter cross-sectional study carried out on 500 healthcare practitioners enrolled from Mayo Hospital Lahore, Punjab Institute of Cardiology Lahore, Services Hospital Lahore, Allied Hospital Faisalabad, Nishtar Hospital Multan, Holy Family Hospital Rawalpindi, and Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Islamabad. Data was collected through a structured questionnaire, which included demographic variables, Perceived Stress Scale, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, professional performance variables, and pharmacist perspective about precision medicine. The statistical analysis was carried out by SPSS version 26 and significant value was p < 0.05.

Results: Of the total 500 respondents, 61.8% had high stress levels, while 54.2% showed clinical signs of anxiety symptoms. Severe stress was most prevalent among nurses when compared with physicians, pharmacists, and allied health practitioners. High-stress individuals had poor performance outcomes compared with their low-stress counterparts (χ² = 21.64, p < 0.001). Pharmacists had a positive attitude towards precision medicine as 78.4% were aware of its ability to enhance cancer patients’ survival rates, and 72.6% were willing to enroll in specialized training.

Conclusion: Mental health issues continue to be very common among healthcare practitioners at tertiary care hospitals. The higher levels of stress and anxiety were found to be positively correlated with poor professional performance. The pharmacists showed their full support towards precision medicine and targeted treatments despite the presence of obstacles such as training, facilities, and high costs.