Web - based interventions for mental health promotion in employees: a systematic review and meta - analysis

Aktivität: Vorträge und GastvorlesungenKonferenzvorträgeForschung

Dirk Lehr - Sprecher*in

Elena Heber - Sprecher*in

David Daniel Ebert - Sprecher*in

    Main Abstract Content: Background. There is growing interest in web-based intervention for promoting mental health in working populations. A number of randomized controlled trials have been conducted; however the results are heterogeneous. This work aims to synthesize the results of randomized controlled trials on web-based mental health interventions for employees. Methods. A systematic search was performed and 4151 abstracts were identified. A meta-analysis was conducted including 18 studies. Cohen’s d was calculated for stress and depression to estimate the effect of the intervention group compared with a care as usual-, a waitlist-, or a no-treatment control group. Results. Analysis of data is still on-going. Available results show small to moderate effect sizes for web-based mental health interventions in employees for the reduction of stress (Cohen’s d=0.43, 95% CI=-0.23-0.63, n=15) and depression (d=0.35, 95% CI =0.18-0.52, n=13). Interventions of medium length (4-8 weeks) are significantly more effective than long (≥ 9 weeks) and short (≤ 4 weeks) interventions in reducing stress (p<.001) and improving depressive symptoms (p<.05). Moreover, guided interventions are superior to unguided interventions in reducing stress and depression (p<.01). No significant difference was present for the type of treatment. Discussion. This meta-analysis demonstrates that internet interventions for improving mental health in employees are available and can be effective. However, the effect sizes of the trials vary from non-significant to large, indicating that each individual intervention needs to be evaluated before implementation. So far, the interventions are designed along theories of work-stress only seldom and moderators of chance are almost unknown. Disclosure of Interest: D. Lehr Conflict with: DL reported holding shares of the Institute for Online Health Training, which aims to transfer scientific knowledge related to the present research into routine mental health care in Germany., E. Heber: None Declared, D. Ebert Conflict with: DE reported holding shares of the Institute for Online Health Training, which aims to transfer scientific knowledge related to the present research into routine mental health care in Germany.
    19.05.2017

    Veranstaltung

    European Association of Work and Organizational Psychology - EAWOP 2017: Enabling Change through Work and Organizational Psychology

    17.05.1720.05.17

    Dublin, Irland

    Veranstaltung: Konferenz