Rumination and Coping as Pathways from Stress to Emotional Exhaustion among Hospital Pharmacists

Objectives: Emotional exhaustion among healthcare professionals, particularly pharmacists, significantly impacts their well-being and efficacy in patient care. Understanding the psychological mechanisms contributing to emotional exhaustion is essential for developing effective interventions. The present research sought to investigate the potential mediating roles of rumination and coping strategies (adaptive and maladaptive) in the relationship between perceived stress and emotional exhaustion among pharmacists. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out between September 2023 and January 2024 involving 576 pharmacists working in public hospitals in Punjab who met the inclusion criteria and actively participated in the study. We employed the Perceived Stress Scale, the Ruminative Response Scale, the Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced Inventory (COPE), and the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI) to assess the hypothesized study model. Path analysis was employed to test the hypothesized mediation model, incorporating simple and chain mediation processes. Results: The findings provided empirical evidence supporting a positive association between perceived stress and emotional exhaustion. Rumination significantly mediated this relationship. Further, both adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies were found to mediate this relationship, with maladaptive coping demonstrating a more substantial impact. Conclusion: The chain mediation model demonstrated that rumination and coping strategies (both maladaptive and adaptive) significantly mediate the relationship between perceived stress and emotional exhaustion among pharmacists. Specifically, rumination was found to be a key mediator, with maladaptive coping strategies having a more substantial impact. These findings provide a deeper understanding of the psychological mechanisms contributing to emotional exhaustion in the pharmacy profession.