Investigation of Mental Health Challenges Faced by Medical Doctors During COVID-19 Culminates in PhD

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Dr Munira Wadiwalla graduated with a PhD in Medicine on 6 May from UKZN after exploring the psychological wellbeing of Medical graduates who were serving their internships at five state hospitals in eThekwini during the devastating outbreak of COVID-19.

Coinciding with 2021 being designated by the World Health Organization as the International Year of Health and Care Workers, and supervised by UKZN’s Psychiatry Chief Specialist and Head of Department, Associate Professor Bonga Chiliza, Wadiwalla’s three-phased study encapsulated the psychological wellbeing of Medical interns into three components: burnout, resilience and mindfulness.

Wadiwalla said Medical interns are susceptible to psychological harm, and there is significant research evidence that affirms that resilience is fundamental to mitigating psychological distress experienced regularly. ‘Now imagine what the experience was like for them at the height of COVID-19?’ she asked.

Known for their high intake of Medical interns, the study participants were spread across Addington, King Edward VIII, R.K. Khan, Prince Mshiyeni and Wentworth hospitals. The participants had to complete an online eight-week Mindfulness Course, the results feeding into the study’s pre- and post-test data.

Information gathered from Wadiwalla’s study was used to inform decision-making changes to better the internship experience. ‘The Medical fraternity could look into developing a sustainable support structure for interns to have throughout their internship journey, which is an important teaching and learning environment. The data for the study was collected online due to the circumstances of the global pandemic,’ Wadiwalla said.

Wadiwalla said she was humbled, grateful, appreciative, and thankful for the accomplishment of attaining her PhD in Psychiatry. ‘It was once a dream and so at times I find that I have to pinch myself to see if it is actually real.

‘I have always had a passion for understanding the mental health and wellbeing of people in society from a very young age, hence I pursued a Bachelor of Social Science degree in Psychology back in 2013. I have always strived to make a positive difference in the lives of people, be it with the use of my education or with my community outreach initiatives with my family who are my support structure.’

Wadiwalla said she has found her passion and would like to invest more of her career in academia. She looks forward to supervising master’s and PhD students in the coming months, publishing articles, and working towards becoming a professor. She is currently a Research Supervisor and Scientific Review Committee member for a private Institution of Higher Learning.

She said she was thankful to Chiliza who encouraged, championed and dedicated many hours of his time toward her doctoral research done by full dissertation.

Wadiwalla’s hobbies are Scottish dancing, cooking and baking, needlework, and gardening in her vegetable and fruit patch. She thanked her parents for their continuous support throughout her academic endeavours.

Words: Lunga Memela

Photograph: Sethu Dlamini