Changes in healthcare workers' anxiety during two time points of the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from a longitudinal study

Abstract

Evidence on the within-person changes of healthcare workers’ mental health across waves of COVID-19 cases during this pandemic is absent. The aim of this study is to examine the within-person changes of anxiety in Argentinean healthcare workers, adjusting for main demographic factors, region of residence, mental disorder history, and COVID-19 contagion, during the COVID-19 pandemic. A longitudinal web survey (N = 305) was conducted during two time points of the pandemic, one of which was an infection peak. Anxiety significantly increased across time. However, there were significant interaction effects modulating anxiety levels. The largest anxiety increases occurred in healthcare workers who were not sure if they had contracted COVID-19 while symptomatic. Irrespective of the time point, anxiety was the highest in healthcare workers from a region inside the country who were not sure if they had contracted COVID-19, either asymptomatic or symptomatic. An interaction effect between the mental disorder history and the COVID-19 contagion suggested that the anxiety outcomes were mainly due to the concern about the COVID-19 contagion, rather than due to pre-existing mental health vulnerabilities. Regardless of the starting point in anxiety levels, an increasing anxiety outcome may be expected among healthcare workers as the pandemic progresses. The uncertainty regarding COVID-19 contagion is a preventable and modifiable interacting factor to produce the worst anxiety outcomes among healthcare workers.