Increasing Engagement With Online Stress Management Interventions

May 3, 2017 updated by: University of Sussex

Increasing Engagement With and Effectiveness of an Online CBT Based Stress Management Intervention for Employees Through the Use of an Online Facilitated Bulletin Board: Design of a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

The purpose of this pilot study is to explore the effect of an online facilitated discussion group on engagement with a stress management intervention delivered to employees in the UK via the Internet. The investigators primary hypothesis is that the intervention group with access to an online facilitated discussion group (delivered via a message board) will show greater engagement than the intervention group that does not have access to the discussion group. The investigators also hypothesise that participants in the intervention groups will improve significantly on psychological distress and subjective wellbeing measures compared to the waiting list control group, and that the group with access to the online facilitated discussion group will show the greatest improvement.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The aim of the pilot study is to identify and address some of the challenges of delivering online psychological interventions in the workplace. There is clear research evidence for the delivery of online psychological interventions within clinical settings (e.g. Andersson & Cuijpers, 2009), but this evidence does not translate to online interventions delivered in work settings (e.g. Geraedts, Kleiboer, Twisk, Wiezer, van Mechelen, & Cuijpers, 2014). Evidence suggests that one of the barriers to the efficacy of online interventions may be the low level of engagement and adherence (Cavanagh & Millings, 2013). This study aims to address this by asking the question: "How can we increase engagement with and adherence to an online intervention delivered in the workplace?"

The pilot study is a three-arm RCT comparing a minimal guided online Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) based stress management intervention (WorkGuru) delivered with and without an online facilitated bulletin board, to a waiting list control. Both active conditions will have access to an online programme with minimal support from a coach. The discussion group condition will also have access to a facilitated online bulletin board. Up to 90 employees from UK based organisations will be recruited to the study.

Inclusion criteria will include age 18 or over, elevated levels of stress (defined as 1SD above the mean norm on the PSS-10 scale), access to a computer or tablet, and the Internet. The primary outcome measure will be engagement, as defined by the number of logins to the site; secondary outcome measures will include further measures of engagement (the number of pages visited, the number of modules completed and self-report engagement) and measures of effectiveness (psychological distress and subjective wellbeing). Possible moderators will include measures of intervention quality (satisfaction, acceptability, credibility, system usability), time pressure, goal conflict, level of distress at baseline, and job autonomy. Measures will be taken at baseline, 2 weeks (credibility and expectancy measures only), 9 weeks (completion of intervention) and 16 weeks (follow-up). Analyses will be conducted on intention to treat and per protocol principles. Data will be collected electronically using Qualtrics survey software.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

84

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United Kingdom
    • Hampshire
      • Brockenhurst, Hampshire, United Kingdom, SO42 7RA
        • WorkGuru

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Aged 18 or over
  • Employed by a participating organisation, ≥ 20 on the Perceived Stress Scale
  • Access to a computer/table and the internet

Exclusion Criteria:

  • None

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Minimum Support Group (MSG)
Intervention group with 8 week access to the online stress management programme with minimal support from a coach (WorkGuru).
Behavioral: WorkGuru
A multi-modal stress management intervention accessed over 8 weeks, incorporates CBT, positive psychology and Mindfulness. Delivered via the internet.
Experimental: Discussion Group
Intervention group with 8 week access to the online stress management programme with minimal support from a coach, plus access to an online facilitated messaging board (WorkGuru).
Behavioral: WorkGuru
A multi-modal stress management intervention accessed over 8 weeks, incorporates CBT, positive psychology and Mindfulness. Delivered via the internet.
No Intervention: Waiting List Control (WLC)
Control group with access to the intervention after 16 weeks

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Number of log-in to the site
Time Frame: 9 weeks
number of times participants log in to the website
9 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Number of modules completed
Time Frame: 9 weeks
number of modules completed
9 weeks
Number of pages visited
Time Frame: 9 weeks
number of pages visited
9 weeks
Self-report engagement
Time Frame: 9 weeks
1 item self-report engagement
9 weeks
Depressions, anxiety and stress
Time Frame: baseline, 9 weeks and 16 weeks
Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21)
baseline, 9 weeks and 16 weeks
Well-being at work
Time Frame: baseline, 9 weeks and 16 weeks
16-item Institute of Work Psychology Multi Affect Indicator
baseline, 9 weeks and 16 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Sussex

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Stephany Carolan, MSc, University of Sussex

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

April 1, 2016

Primary Completion (Actual)

October 1, 2016

Study Completion (Actual)

December 1, 2016

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 18, 2016

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 31, 2016

First Posted (Estimate)

April 6, 2016

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 4, 2017

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 3, 2017

Last Verified

May 1, 2017

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • ER/SC587/1

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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