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Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders and Disasters

Trajectories of Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms in Healthcare Workers During the Pandemic

(PS4-B50) Trajectories of Post-traumatic Stress Symptoms in Healthcare Workers During the Pandemic

Friday, November 18, 2022

1:30 PM – 2:30 PM EST

Location: Westside Ballroom, 5th Floor

Author(s)

AC

Anna C. Cole, M.A.

Clinical Psychology PhD Student
University of Nevada, Reno
Reno, Nevada

Co-Author(s)

KB

Kylie Baer, B.A.

Doctoral Student
University of Nevada, Reno
Sparks, Nevada
MS

Mary Smirnova, B.A.

Graduate Student
University of Nevada, Reno
Reno, Nevada
CL

Cynthia L. Lancaster, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
University of Nevada, Reno
RENO, Nevada

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers have experienced exacerbations in psychological symptoms, including post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). Most people who experience a stressful event do not develop PTSS, however, the time course of symptoms is heterogenous. According to prior research, there are four common trajectories of PTSS following stressful events: chronic PTSS, delayed PTSS, recovery, and resilience. Of these, resilience has been the modal outcome in prior samples, including military personnel and first responders. Although, it is unclear whether the course of PTSS among healthcare workers during a prolonged stressful event, such as the pandemic, follows a similar pattern. Therefore, we aimed to explore the trajectories of PTSS in healthcare workers in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. In our sample of healthcare workers across the United States, we collected data at three time points: April/ May 2020 (T1; n = 181), one month later (T2; n = 135), and six months later (T3; n = 111). We carried out a latent class growth analysis and identified a four-class solution: chronic PTSS (23.37%), delayed PTSS (4.89%), recovering PTSS (7.07%), and resilience against PTSS (64.67%). This pattern of results mirrors the four trajectories described in previous studies (e.g., Bonnano, 2004), and the resilient trajectory was once again the modal outcome. When comparing our findings to other populations with high levels of occupational stress, such as military personnel and first responders, we had a higher proportion of chronic PTSS individuals (roughly 23% of healthcare workers versus 5-9% of military or first responders). As a whole, these findings highlight the resilience of the majority of healthcare workers during the pandemic. However, the strikingly high rates of chronic PTSS underscore the consequences of this chronic stressor. Future studies should prioritize identifying predictors of symptom trajectories among healthcare workers under conditions of chronic stress, such as the pandemic, so that we can provide early interventions to those most at-risk for experiencing sustained post-traumatic stress symptoms.