Abstract
Mobile health interventions (i.e., “apps”) are used to address mental health and are an increasingly popular method available to both individuals and organizations to manage workplace stress. However, at present, there is a lack of research on the effectiveness of mobile health interventions in counteracting or improving stress-related health problems, particularly in naturalistic, non-clinical settings. This project aimed at validating a mobile health intervention (which is theoretically grounded in the Job Demands-Resources Model) in preventing and managing stress at work. Within the mobile health intervention, employees make an evidence-based, personalized, psycho-educational journey to build further resources, and thus, reduce stress. A large-scale longitudinal randomized control trial, conducted with six European companies over 6 weeks using four measurement points, examined indicators of mental health via measures of stress, wellbeing, resilience, and sleep. The data were analyzed by means of hierarchical multilevel models for repeated measures, including both self-report measures and user behavior metrics from the app. The results (n = 532) suggest that using the mobile health intervention (vs. waitlist control group) significantly improved stress and wellbeing over time. Higher engagement in the intervention increased the beneficial effects. Additionally, use of the sleep tracking function led to an improvement in sleeping troubles. The intervention had no effects on measures of physical health or social community at work. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed, focusing on benefits and challenges of using technological solutions for organizations to support individuals’ mental health in the workplace.
Highlights
In recent decades, work-related stress has become increasingly prominent due to changes in working conditions (e.g., Kompier, 2002; Landsbergis, 2003; Broughton, 2010)
Stress The results revealed an improvement in the experience of general stress and cognitive stress with a continuous time-trend toward experiencing less stress, as well as a significant difference between the two groups over time
We observed a significant improvement in general stress and wellbeing within the waitlist control group from T3 to T4. Since these improvements are confined to those outcome variables that responded to the intervention from T1-T3, but did not materialize on the social community and physical health impairment scales, we suggest that it is unlikely that these changes took place only because of measurement effects
Summary
Work-related stress has become increasingly prominent due to changes in working conditions (e.g., Kompier, 2002; Landsbergis, 2003; Broughton, 2010). Accessible, scalable, and providing return on investment (Ebert et al, 2014, 2016), mobile health interventions (i.e., mental health apps) may drive positive behavior change and Mobile Health App to Improve Stress are becoming increasingly available for individuals and organizations to manage mental health, both in terms of treatment and prevention programs. The current project addresses this research gap by investigating the effectiveness of a science-backed mobile health intervention to manage stress and positive mental health at work. As part of a European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation project, this paper describes findings of a large-scale, multi-center randomized control trial (RCT) to assess a smartphone-delivered health intervention to counteract workplace stress and increase wellbeing at the individual level within a naturalistic, occupational context
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