ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Mental Health
This article is part of the Research TopicTransforming Work Environments: The Impact of Healing Workplaces on Employee Wellbeing and Organizational PerformanceView all articles
Prevalence and Risk Factors of Burnout Among Community Pharmacists in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study
Provisionally accepted
Abdulrahman M. Hijri1*
Fahad Alzahrani2
Osama A. Madkhali3Majid Ali4
Mazen Alaqil5
Riyadh M. Salami6Yaseen A. Madkhali7Abdulrahman A. Almalki8Emad H. Hassany8Aseel A. Alsraeya9Asma M. Ahmed10Khalid H. khubrani1Nasser M. Alsubaie1- 1Department of Pharmaceutical Care Services, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- 2Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy, Taibah University, Madinah, Saudi Arabia
- 3Department of Pharmaceutics, Collage of Pharmacy, Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia
- 4Department of Basic Sciences, College of Medicine, Sulaiman Alrajhi University, Al-Bukayriyah, Saudi Arabia
- 5Pharmacy Practice Research Unit, College of Pharmacy, Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia
- 6Pharmaceutical Care Services, Prince Sultan Cardiac Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- 7Pharmacy Practice Research Unit, College of Pharmacy, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- 8Al-Dawaa Medical Services Company, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- 9Pharmaceutical Care Administration, Armed Forces Hospital Southern Region, Khamis Mushait, Saudi Arabia
- 10Pharmaceutical Care Administration, Armed Forces Hospital Southern Region,, Khamis Mushait., Saudi Arabia
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Background: Burnout among healthcare professionals impacts patient care quality and healthcare systems. While extensively studied acrossin various healthcare sectors, burnout among community pharmacists in Saudi Arabia remains underexplored despite their expanding roles in healthcare delivery. Methods: This cross-sectional study utilized an online survey with the validated Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS) to assess burnout across three dimensions among community pharmacists in Saudi Arabia from December 2024 to March 2025. Multiple regression analysis identified factors associated with burnout. Results: Among 408 community pharmacists (mean age 28.07 ± 3.75 years, 72.8% male), high levels of burnout were prevalent: 65.9% exhibited high emotional exhaustion (EE) (mean 35.50 ± 14.40), 64.5% showed high depersonalization (DP) (mean 14.66 ± 8.26), and 66.2% demonstrated low personal accomplishment (mean 29.34 ± 11.16). Sales pressure frequency was the strongest predictor of EE (β = 0.312, p < 0.001) and a significant predictor of DP (β = 0.218, p < 0.001). Saudi nationality strongly predictedwas strongly associated with both EE (β = 0.267, p < 0.001) and DP (β = 0.298, p < 0.001). Years of experience showed protective effects against burnout dimensions. Pharmacists experiencing constant sales pressure had 4.23 times higher odds of high EE (95% CI: 2.18-8.21, p < 0.001). Conclusion: Community pharmacists in Saudi Arabia experience alarmingly high burnout levels, particularly among Saudi nationals, those facing constant sales pressure, practitioners with less experience, and those managing high patient volumes. These findings highlight the urgent need for workplace interventions, policy changes, and support systems focusing on reducing commercial pressures, optimizing workload distribution, and providing targeted support for vulnerable subgroups.
Keywords: burnout, stress, wellbeing, Community pharmacists, Workforce, Saudi Arabia, Maslach burnout inventory, Occupational Health
Received: 16 Sep 2025; Accepted: 18 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Hijri, Alzahrani, Madkhali, Ali, Alaqil, Salami, Madkhali, Almalki, Hassany, Alsraeya, Ahmed, khubrani and Alsubaie. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Abdulrahman M. Hijri, hijriabdulrahman@gmail.com
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