Abstract
BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic produced substantial challenges to pharmacy systems worldwide and provoked concerns about a wider influence on mental health. While various studies have investigated the relationship between disruptions in access to healthcare and mental health, the effects of delayed and unmet access to prescription drugs on anxiety-related outcomes have been underexamined. OBJECTIVE: This study analyzed the impact of delayed and unmet access to prescription drugs on anxiety-related outcomes, including anxiety, inability to stop or control worrying, worrying too much, trouble relaxing, trouble sitting still, being annoyed or irritable, and fear of future events, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A retrospective observational study was performed using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 79 Child and Young Adult dataset, encompassing 2193 individuals. One-way multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between access to prescription drugs and anxiety-related symptoms. RESULTS: The findings show that, before the pandemic, instances of delayed/unable to access prescription drugs were either not linked to anxiety symptoms or, in some cases, were linked to anxiety symptoms but no different than during the pandemic. Delayed access to prescription drugs amid the pandemic was significantly linked with increases in anxiety symptoms not found pre-pandemic, including worrying too much (F = 18.433, p < .001, η(2)(p) = 0.017), trouble relaxing (F = 11.423, p < .001, η(2)(p) = 0.010), and being easily annoyed or irritable (F = 3.881, p = .021, η(2)(p) = 0.004). Similarly, unmet access to prescription drugs amid the pandemic was significantly linked with increases in anxiety-related symptoms not found pre-pandemic, including an inability to stop or control worrying (F = 14.666, p < .001, η(2)(p) = 0.013) and worrying too much (F = 18.433, p < .001, η(2)(p) = 0.017). CONCLUSIONS: These results have implications for pharmacy administrators and policymakers seeking to understand and limit adverse mental health outcomes within pharmacy during times of crisis.