What is the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on pharmacists? The question is the starting point for a study promoted by the Ordem dos Farmacêuticos in partnership with CINTESIS – Center for Health Technology and Services Research .

Using a nationwide online survey, researchers will assess for the first time the “burnout” or emotional distress associated with the pharmaceutical activity, taking the current pandemic as a context.

“We aim to understand how pharmacists have viewed their work and their close relationships in the last three months, and by comparison, with the months before the pandemic,” they explain.

According to the team integrated by the CINTESIS researcher Pedro Machado dos Santos, pharmacists have been subjected to “increased pressure” in view of the need to guarantee the population’s access to pharmaceutical services, namely pharmacies and medicines, under conditions of safety and quality.

It is expected that this work allows the comparison of results and can support decision-making and the elaboration of guidelines for the creation of environments more favorable to the daily routine of health professionals.

The survey can be accessed here (in Portuguese).