Changes in healthcare workers’ anxiety during two time points of the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from a longitudinal study (Version 1)

Abstract

Evidence on the within-person changes of healthcare workers’ mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic is absent. This study aimed to examine the within-person changes of anxiety in Argentinean healthcare workers during this pandemic, adjusting for main demographic factors, region, mental disorder history, and COVID-19 contagion. 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 wondering 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 wondering 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. 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.