Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38726336›Full record

ArticleThe South African journal of psychiatry : SAJP : the journal of the Society of Psychiatrists of South Africa2024

Prevalence and determinants of burnout among South African doctors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Saajida Khan, Itumeleng Ntatamala, Roslynn Baatjies, Shahieda Adams

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The South African journal of psychiatry : SAJP : the journal of the Society of Psychiatrists of South Africa, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Prevalence of burnout and contributing factors among physicians in Burundi: A cross-sectional study.The South African journal of psychiatry : SAJP : the journal of the Society of Psychiatrists of South Africa · 2026
    Article
  2. Pandemic preparedness: The case for sentinel surveillance of doctors' burnout.Journal of the colleges of medicine of South Africa · 2026
    Article
  3. AWARE: Anaesthesia trainee wellbeing at respective educational institutions: A national prospective study of burnout, depressive symptoms and occupational stress.The South African journal of psychiatry : SAJP : the journal of the Society of Psychiatrists of South Africa · 2026
    Article
  4. Article
  5. A review of burnout among doctors in South Africa: Pre-, during and post-COVID-19 pandemic.South African family practice : official journal of the South African Academy of Family Practice/Primary Care · 2024
    Review
  6. Article
  7. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Saajida KhanDivision of Occupational Medicine and Centre for Environmental and Occupational Health Research, School of Public Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0001-8454-2215
Itumeleng NtatamalaDivision of Occupational Medicine and Centre for Environmental and Occupational Health Research, School of Public Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9799-0132
Roslynn BaatjiesDepartment of Environmental and Occupational Studies, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3772-071X
Shahieda AdamsDivision of Occupational Medicine and Centre for Environmental and Occupational Health Research, School of Public Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3630-1855

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Burnout, resulting from chronic workplace stress that has been unsuccessfully managed, has previously been documented in doctors. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has increased occupational challenges faced by doctors, potentiating their risk for burnout. Aim: This study aimed to determine the prevalence and determinants of burnout among medical doctors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Setting: Three public sector hospitals in Gqeberha, South Africa. Methods: A cross-sectional study of 260 voluntary participants was conducted. Participants completed self-administered electronic questionnaires. Logistic regression analysis was performed to explore the determinants of burnout. Results: The prevalence of burnout in this study was 78%. Burnout was significantly associated with being a medical intern or community-service medical officer (adjusted odd ratio [AOR] = 6.72, 1.71-26.40), being in the lowest income band (AOR = 10.78, 2.55-45.49), and using alcohol to manage work-related stress (AOR = 3.01, 1.12-8.04). Job-related factors associated with burnout were experiencing high conflict at work (AOR = 5.04, 1.92-13.20) and high role ambiguity and role conflict (AOR = 4.49, 1.98-10.18). Low support at work (AOR = 9.99, 3.66-27.23), medium job satisfaction (AOR = 5.38, 2.65-10.93) and medium support at work (AOR = 3.39, 1.71-6.73) were positively associated with burnout. Participants with medium (AOR = 0.28, 0.10-0.80) and high levels of resilience (AOR = 0.08, 0.03-0.25) were protected against burnout. Coronavirus disease 2019-related factors were not significantly associated with burnout. Conclusion: The burnout prevalence among South African medical doctors at public hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic was high and strongly associated with job stress factors. Contribution: Given the increased prevalence of burnout among doctors and the strong associations with job stress factors, mitigation of burnout requires targeted organisational interventions.

Indexed as

burnoutCOVID-19medical doctorspublic hospitalSouth Africawork-related stress

Identifiers

PMID38726336
PMCPMC11079362

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.