{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]],"date-time":"2026-08-18T04:46:07Z","timestamp":1787028367246,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":50,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,4,10]],"date-time":"2023-04-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1681084800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Introduction: Globally, the high prevalence of burnout in healthcare workers (HCWs) is of the utmost concern. Burnout is a state of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and a decreased sense of personal accomplishment. 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 healthcare workers experienced burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic in Mthatha Regional Hospital. 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 Mthatha Regional Hospital (MRH). In-depth interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were managed through NVIVO 12 software before being thematically analyzed using Colaizzi\u2019s 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 provides strategic information for policymakers and managers on developing and strengthening welfare policies to promote and protect frontline health workers\u2019 well-being and work functioning.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph20085451","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,4,10]],"date-time":"2023-04-10T05:59:33Z","timestamp":1681106373000},"page":"5451","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["\u201cWhy Am I Even Here If I Can\u2019t Save the Patients?\u201d: The Frontline Healthcare Workers\u2019 Experience of Burnout during COVID-19 Pandemic in Mthatha, South Africa"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"20","author":[{"given":"Noluyolo","family":"Fathuse","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Discipline of Public Health Medicine, School of Nursing & Public Health, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4041, South Africa"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Khumbulani W.","family":"Hlongwana","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Discipline of Public Health Medicine, School of Nursing & Public Health, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4041, South Africa"},{"name":"Cancer & Infectious Diseases Epidemiology Research Unit (CIDERU), College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4041, South Africa"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9435-3488","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Themba G.","family":"Ginindza","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Discipline of Public Health Medicine, School of Nursing & Public Health, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4041, South Africa"},{"name":"Cancer & Infectious Diseases Epidemiology Research Unit (CIDERU), College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4041, South Africa"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,4,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"192","DOI":"10.1080\/02678370500297720","article-title":"The Copenhagen Burnout Inventory: A new tool for the assessment of burnout","volume":"19","author":"Kristensen","year":"2005","journal-title":"Work Stress"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"995","DOI":"10.31661\/gmj.v7i0.995","article-title":"Evaluation of the Persian Version of Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey among Iranian Nurses: Validity and Reliability","volume":"7","author":"Moalemi","year":"2018","journal-title":"Galen Med. 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