ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Pharmacists in sales and marketing roles need specific skills for managerial positions, and a framework for evaluating and developing these competencies is necessary. Currently, no such framework is known to exist. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to develop and validate a specialized competency framework for pharmacists in sales and marketing managerial positions and assess correlates related to the competency domains. METHODS: This web-based study carried out between March and October 2022 enrolled a convenient sample of 60 pharmacists with managerial positions in sales and marketing, contacted by phone, working in the field of sales and marketing from the five governorates of Lebanon (Beirut, Beqaa, Mount Lebanon, South, and North). RESULTS: The framework demonstrated good construct and structural validity in all domains except for emergency preparedness, which had a low correlation with other domains. Competencies were well correlated with respective domains, and behaviors had excellent loadings on corresponding competencies. As for the correlates of the competency domains, males were more confident than females (p < .05), and participants with more experience (or heavier workload) reported higher competency levels (p < .05), particularly for upper management skills, communication skills, and professional practice. Further, education level was not significantly correlated with declared competency, with experience being the most cited source of competence (68.25%), followed by postgraduate degrees (42.48%) and continuing education sessions (33.93%), while undergraduate education was the least reported (29.5%). CONCLUSION: This study could develop and validate the Specialized Competency Framework for Pharmacists in Managerial Positions in Sales and Marketing (SCF-PMSM) among a sample of Lebanese pharmacists. This framework demonstrated good reliability, content, construct, and structural validity in all the domains, with the competencies being well correlated with their respective domains and behaviors having excellent loadings on related competencies, except for emergency preparedness and response. It also revealed a mismatch between what is taught at undergraduate and postgraduate levels and the needs in practice.
ABSTRACT
Objective: This study aimed to examine the outcomes of COVID-19 and a collapsing economy on the mental well-being (MWB) of the general Lebanese population. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted online in May 2020 and enrolled 502 adults. Results: Mental well-being had a mean of 14.80 (14.37; 15.24). A lower MWB was associated with female gender (beta=-1.533 [-2.324; -0.743]), university education (beta=-2.119 [-3.353;-0.885]), fear of COVID-19 (beta=-0.131 [-0.199; -0.063]), fear of poverty (beta=-0.232 [-0.402;-0.063]), verbal violence at home (beta=-3.464 [-5.137; -1.790]), and chronic disease (beta=-1.307 [-2.283; -0.330]). Better family satisfaction (beta=0.380 [0.235; 0.525]) and better financial situation (beta=0.029 [0.003; 0.055]) were significantly correlated with better MWB. In the subsample of workers/looking for a job, additional factors affected MWB: physical exercise (beta =1.318 [0.370; 2.265]) was associated with better QOL, while being a previous waterpipe smoker, being self-employed before the crisis (beta=-1.22 [-2.208;-0.231]), working from home since the economic crisis (-1.853 [-3.692; -0.013]), and worrying about the long-term effects of the crisis on one's employment status (beta=-0.433 [-0.650; -0.216]) were associated lower MWB. It is noteworthy that closure of the institution yielded a borderline result (B = -1.2; p = .094), while the fear of COVID-19 was not significantly associated with MWB (B = -0.054; p =0.192). Conclusion: This study showed that, during the pandemic, economic and other factors, directly or indirectly related to COVID-19, significantly affected quality of life. The fear of COVID-19 and fear of poverty mainly impacted the MWB of the general population. However, the fear of COVID-19 lost its significance among workers, who reported that factors negatively affecting their MWB are directly related to their employment and the already collapsing economy in Lebanon.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected physical and mental health worldwide, particularly vulnerable populations with lower social and economic status. This study explored the independent and combined effects of the COVID-19 and economy-related variables on stress and anxiety among Lebanese adults in a developing country facing a severe socio-economic crisis and political turmoil. A cross-sectional study was conducted online between May 10 and 20, 2020, using the snowball sampling technique. All individuals over 18 were eligible. The final sample included 502 respondents. Higher stress and anxiety were associated with younger age, female gender, previous higher socio-economic status, having a family member with a chronic disease, fear of not getting access to treatment, fear of COVID-19, and physical violence at home. However, financial wellness and higher family satisfaction were significantly associated with lower stress. The multivariate analysis showed a significant interaction between fear of COVID-19 and financial wellness on estimated marginal means of stress and anxiety. The combined presence of fear of the pandemic and financial hardship is associated with higher stress and anxiety, particularly among women and younger Lebanese adults with difficult home circumstances. Thus, healthcare professionals need to screen for mental health problems among subgroups presenting multiple risk factors.