Current Status of Stress Coping for Pharmacists in Home Care

Abstract

In this study, a questionnaire survey (Brief Scales for Coping Profile [BSCP]) about coping with stress was administered to pharmacists at 633 pharmacies providing home health care in Aichi Prefecture. Means and standard deviations were calculated for each of the 18 subscales and six factors of the BSCP for 266 valid responses. We found that pharmacists responded to stress mainly through problem-focused stress coping in home health care. Comparison by attribute revealed that female pharmacists and pharmacists with experience in dealing with terminally ill patients tended to utilize problem-focused and emotion-focused stress coping more flexibly. Younger pharmacists with less work experience tended to focus mainly on emotion-focused stress coping. Pharmacists involved in management and administration were more likely to use problem-focused stress coping, suggesting the need for stress management. Stress management that takes into account coping choices based on attributes is desirable for reducing stress among pharmacists in home health care where interpersonal work is the main focus.