Introduction The physical, social and occupational restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic have affected the health and well-being of the world population. Objective To identify the repercussions of the pandemic on the occupational participation of students, lecturers and technicians from three public universities in Northern Brazil, to compare the changes reported by participants in occupational participation before and during the pandemic, and to identify symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress self-reported. Method This is a Cross-sectional, descriptive and comparative study with a quantitative approach. One hundred and ninety-nine (n = 199) participants (students, lecturers and technicians) responded to an online questionnaire, the “Occupational Participation Checklist” and the Anxiety, Stress and Depression Scale (DASS-21). Data analysis were descriptive and also performed by applying the Wilcoxon and Mann-Whitney tests. Results During the pandemic, an increase in occupational participation was identified for all participants in domestic activities (p <0.001) and a decrease in work and study face to face (p <0.001). Students reported more symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress when compared to lecturers (p<0.001). Most students did not organise their time to fulfil their occupations with satisfaction. Such difficulties were associated with symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress, especially among the student's group (p<0.001). Conclusion This study provided preliminary evidence about differences in occupational participation before and during the Covid-19 pandemic. The organization of time and difficulties in occupational participation were associated to levels of anxiety, depression and stress, especially in the sample of students.

À minha família, em especial à minha mãe, por todo o apoio, por acreditar e por sempre ter os olhos a brilhar a cada conquista alcançada, gratidão. Aos meus irmãos, por proporcionarem momentos leves em um árduo período. Ao meu marido, Márcio e à minha filha Marcela, pelos momentos de compreensão, pela parceria e pelo caminhar, o qual foi sempre com as mãos dadas. Ao Prof. Dr. José Marques Novo Júnior, pela oportunidade dada, pelas orientações, por mostrar o caminho e confiar no meu potencial. Aos membros da Banca Examinadora do Exame de Qualificação, Profs. Drs. Arlindo Neto Montagnoli e Valeria Meirelles Carril Elui pelas valiosas sugestões dadas para a melhoria deste trabalho, bem como aos membros da Banca Examinadora da Defesa da Dissertação