Longitudinal Profile of Post traumatic symptoms in HealthCare Workers during COVID-19 pandemic: A latent transition model

Introduction: Pandemics have the potential to be considered traumatic event, increasing the risk of developing post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in some populations, such as Health Care Workers. However, few longitudinal studies have evaluated the impact of prolonged exposure to the risk imposed by COVID-19. Methods: We evaluated the levels of post-traumatic stress symptoms and psychological distress in a Brazilian HealthCare Workers' sample (n = 1398) in three waves of assessment: from May to June 2020 (Wave 1), December 2020 to February 2021 (Wave 2) and May to August 2021 (Wave 3). Results: Using Latent Profile Analysis (LPA), it was identified two profiles: high-PTSS profile (Wave 1 - 23%; Wave 2 - 64% and Wave 3 - 73%) and low-PTSS (Wave 1 - 77%; Wave 2 - 36% and Wave 3 - 27%). Then, we used Latent Transition Analysis (LTA) to examine changes in symptom profiles over time, including gender, psychiatric diagnosis history, and pandemic-related fears as covariates. Results show that being female, working with fear of contamination, and fearing financial problems were strong predictors of changes in the profile from low-PTSS to high-PTSS. In addition, regardless of the initial profile, the participants had a high probability of being in the high-PTSS in the long run. Conclusion: There is a clear risk for HealthCare Workers to feel traumatized during a stressful critical healthcare condition.