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Cited by 11COVID-19 and Mental HealthHealthcare professionals’ stress and burnoutOccupational Health and Burnout

Coping strategies employed by public psychiatric healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in southern Gauteng, South Africa

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Scheunemann, Ann, Kim, Andrew W., Moolla, Aneesa, Subramaney, Ugasvaree·2023·PLOS ONE
DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0277392PMC PMC10414601
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Abstract

Within the context of the novel coronavirus pandemic and new challenges to a resource-constrained public healthcare system, many healthcare workers in South Africa have faced numerous stressors that have compromised their mental health. While the current literature on COVID-19 in South Africa highlights the widespread psychosocial stress experienced by healthcare workers during the pandemic, little is known about the coping strategies utilized to continue service delivery and maintain one’s mental health and well-being during this ongoing public health emergency. In this study, we sought to explore the coping strategies used by healthcare workers employed in the public psychiatric care system in southern Gauteng, South Africa during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Psychiatric healthcare workers (n = 55) employed in three tertiary public hospitals and two specialized psychiatric facilities participated in in-depth interviews between July 2020 and March 2021. We found that coping strategies spanned multi-level and multi-systemic efforts. Intrapersonal, interpersonal, material, and structural coping were mapped across individual, family, and hospital systems. The most commonly utilized coping strategies included positive mindsets and reappraisal, social support systems, and COVID-19 specific protections. Findings also highlighted the contextual and interconnected nature of coping. Healthcare workers applied multiple coping strategies to combat the negative mental health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Better understanding these strategies, contexts in which they are employed, and how they interact can be used to develop evidence-based interventions to support healthcare workers experiencing healthcare-related stressors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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  • Chronic understaffing, heavy workloads, and limited resources restricted the feasibility or impact of burnout-management strategies.

    “Chronic understaffing, heavy workloads, and limited resources restricted the feasibility or impact of burnout-management strategies (28, 34).”

    From Management strategies for healthcare worker burnout in Sub-Saharan Africa: an integrative review (2026) · cites this paper as [34]

    The Discussion section, “Contextual and subjective nature of coping strategies” (page unavailable), says that access to resources affects whether they help people cope, and that absent PPE, technology, and communication caused stress. The cited paper does not establish that chronic understaffing or heavy workloads restricted the feasibility or impact of burnout-management strategies. (LLM, conf=0.83)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • In South Africa, staff felt less isolated and more emotionally supported when organizational leadership was present, responsive and communicative.

    “In addition, findings from South Africa, showed that staff felt less isolated and more emotionally supported when organizational leadership was present, responsive and communicative (33, 34).”

    From Management strategies for healthcare worker burnout in Sub-Saharan Africa: an integrative review (2026) · cites this paper as [34]

    The Results (Intrapersonal coping; page unavailable) describe transparent communication and collaboration by management as forms of support, and the Discussion (Common coping mechanisms; page unavailable) likewise calls them a source of support. But the paper attributes reduced isolation specifically to camaraderie among co-workers, not to organizational leadership; it does not establish that leadership's presence or responsiveness made staff feel less isolated. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Studies during COVID-19 demonstrated that weak infrastructure and insufficient institutional support intensified distress.

    “Studies during COVID-19 similarly demonstrated that weak infrastructure and insufficient institutional support intensified distress (27, 28, 34).”

    From Management strategies for healthcare worker burnout in Sub-Saharan Africa: an integrative review (2026) · cites this paper as [34]

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Scheunemann, A., Kim, A. W., Moolla, A., & Subramaney, U.
Affiliations
  • Harvard University (US)
  • South African Medical Research Council (ZA)
  • University of the Witwatersrand (ZA)
Corresponding author
Kim, Andrew W.
ORCID
Venue
PLOS ONE
Publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Published
2023-08-10
Volume
18
Issue
8
Pages
e0277392
ISSN
1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0277392
PMC
PMC10414601
OpenAlex
W4385727758
Cited by
11
References
8
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 5
FWCI
3.21
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
Fogarty International Center (D43 TW010543)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › COVID-19 and Mental Health
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Healthcare professionals’ stress and burnout
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Occupational Therapy › Occupational Health and Burnout
Keywords
coping strategies, COVID-19 pandemic, occupational stress, mental health, social support, cognitive reappraisal, positive mindset
MeSH terms
COVID-19, Adaptation, Psychological, Health Personnel, Hospitals, Public, Humans, South Africa, Pandemics

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