Self-guided internet-based and mobile-based stress management for employees: results of a randomised controlled trial

Publikation: Beiträge in ZeitschriftenZeitschriftenaufsätzeForschungbegutachtet

Authors

Objective: This randomised controlled trial (RCT) aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a self-guided internet-based stress management intervention (iSMI) for employees compared to a 6-month wait-list control group (WLC) with full access for both groups to treatment as usual.

Method: A sample of 264 employees with elevated symptoms of perceived stress (Perceived Stress Scale, PSS-10 ≥22) was randomly assigned to either the iSMI or to the WLC. The iSMI consisted of seven sessions and one booster session including problem-solving and emotion regulation techniques. Self-report data were assessed at baseline, at 7 weeks and at 6 months following randomisation. The primary outcome was perceived stress (PSS-10). The secondary outcomes included other relevant mental-related and work-related health outcomes. Data were analysed based on intention-to-treat principles.

Results: The iSMI participants showed a significantly higher reduction in perceived stress from baseline to post-treatment at 7 weeks (d=0.96, 95% CI 0.70 to 1.21) and to the 6-month follow-up (d=0.65, 95% CI 0.40 to 0.89) compared to the WLC. Significant differences with small to moderate effect sizes were also found for depression, anxiety, emotional exhaustion, sleeping problems, worrying, mental health-related quality of life, psychological detachment, emotion regulation skills and presenteeism, in favour of the experimental group. At the 6 -month follow-up, all outcomes remained significantly better for the experimental group with the exception of work engagement, physical health-related quality of life and absenteeism, which were not found to significantly differ between the iSMI and WLC groups.

Conclusions: The iSMI investigated in this study was found to be effective in reducing typical mental-related and work-related health symptoms of stressed employees. Internet-based self-guided interventions could be an acceptable, effective and potentially cost-effective approach to reduce the negative consequences associated with work-related stress.
OriginalspracheEnglisch
ZeitschriftOccupational and Environmental Medicine
Jahrgang73
Ausgabenummer5
Seiten (von - bis)315-323
Anzahl der Seiten9
ISSN1351-0711
DOIs
PublikationsstatusErschienen - 05.05.2016

DOI

Zuletzt angesehen

Publikationen

  1. Ecosystem Services as a Contested Concept
  2. Integrated simulation method for investment decisions of micro production systems
  3. Give and take frames in shared-resource negotiations
  4. Guest editorial
  5. Agency, values, and well-being
  6. Processes for green and sustainable software engineering
  7. Effects of samarium content on microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg–0.5Zn–0.5Zr alloy
  8. Facets of control
  9. Gender, Space and Development: An Introduction to Concepts and Debates
  10. On the Relation of Boredom and Sadistic Aggression
  11. Leading Knowledge Exploration and Exploitation in Schools
  12. Computing Consumer Sentiment in Germany via Social Media Data
  13. A Multisite Preregistered Paradigmatic Test of the Ego-Depletion Effect
  14. Homogenization for a non-local coupling model
  15. Datenmodellierung mit dem Entity-Relationship-Ansatz
  16. Noticing Colour
  17. Biomass energy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS or Bio-CCS)
  18. machine/readable. Reflextions upon the ›knowledge‹ of images
  19. The effects of an active development of the mental model in the training process
  20. Belief in Free Will Is Related to Internal Attribution in Self-Perception
  21. Discussion on the validity of commonly used reliability indices in sports medicine and exercise science
  22. Trade Dynamics, Trade Costs and Market Size: First Evidence from the Exporter and Importer Dynamics Database for Germany
  23. Release of monomers from four different composite materials after halogen and LED curing
  24. Systematic risk behavior in cyclical industries
  25. Beschreibung der Hauptergebnisse