Experiences of healthcare workers providing care during the COVID-19 pandemic in Johannesburg sub-district A clinics South Africa

The novel Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic invaded health systems worldwide. It contributed to a loss of more than a million lives across the globe. However, it also highlighted existing fractures and complexities within the healthcare sector, such as the lack of human resources. The healthcare workers were expected to provide service within the existing complexities and fractures in the healthcare environment during the pandemic; thus, this study examined the experiences of healthcare workers in delivering healthcare services during the COVID-19 pandemic in clinics. A qualitative, phenomenological, descriptive research design was employed to explore and describe the experiences of healthcare workers in delivering healthcare services during the COVID-19 pandemic in the clinics of sub-district A, in the city of Johannesburg, Gauteng Province. A purposive sampling method was used to select 24 healthcare workers, 02 doctors, and 22 nurses. Data collection was completed with semi-structured interviews that lasted between 25 and 40 min. Data were analyzed using the techs’ open coding method of qualitative data analysis. Two main themes emerged: Healthcare workers’ experiences during service delivery and diverse experiences regarding support systems when providing health services during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study findings underscored that knowledge is critical towards the management of a contagious pandemic, as evident by the findings that a lack of knowledge about the pandemic created fear among the healthcare professionals. The COVID-19 pandemic has put a significant strain on healthcare systems around the world. The healthcare providers were also affected. The COVID-19 pandemic demanded that healthcare workers be resilient when providing service delivery. The findings of this study will help prepare healthcare workers for future pandemics.