Exploring burnout among frontline healthcare workers during covid-19 pandemic in Mthatha, Eastern Cape, South Africa.

Abstract

Introduction: Burnout prevalence among healthcare workers (HCW) is high and has a negative impact on individuals’ health, patient care and, ultimately, organizational efficiency. Burnout is a state of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a decreased sense of personal accomplishment (1). While the 2019 Coronavirus (COVID-19) exacerbated the burnout prevalence among HCWs, limited studies have explored this phenomenon using qualitative methodologies in the Eastern Cape Province and South Africa generally. This study explored how frontline HCWs experienced burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic in Mthatha Regional Hospital (MRH). Methods: Ten face-to-face in-depth interviews were conducted with non-specialized medical doctors and nurses who directly cared for COVID-19-infected patients during the pandemic in MRH. Indepth interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were managed through NVIVO 12 software before being thematically analyzed using Colaizzi’s analysis method. Results: Four main themes emerged from the analysis. These themes were burnout manifestation (emotional strain, detachment and irritability, uncertainty-induced fear and anxiety, physical exhaustion, yet, low job accomplishment, dread and professional responsibility), precursors of burnout (occupational exposure to high mortality, staff shortages, elongated high patient volume and workload, disease uncertainties and consistent feeling of grief), alleviating factors of burnout (time off work, psychologist intervention, periods of low infection rate and additional staff), and the last theme was every cloud has a silver lining (improved infection prevention and control (IPC) measures, learning to be more empathetic, the passion remains and confidence grows). Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic brought about a rapid change in the work environment of healthcare workers who are the backbone of efficient healthcare services, thereby rendering them vulnerable to increased burnout risks. This study is expected to provide comprehensive information on burnout, its predisposing factors, its manifestations, and alleviating factors. And also, these findings are anticipated to contribute to the strategic development and strengthening of welfare policies to promote and protect frontline HCWs wellbeing and well-functioning at work during the COVID-19 pandemic and future pandemics.