Conclusion
Soma Analytics/DNAFit
Overall, our findings suggest that the effects of a mobile mental health intervention on stress levels might have a positive effect on presenteeism and absenteeism in workers. However, such effects do not seem to be persistent 2 weeks after finishing using the intervention, except in the case of the impact of the interventions via cognitive stress on presenteeism. While further studies are needed to replicate our findings and examine further pathways through which mobile mental health interventions might influence workers’ productivity, our results add to the sparse research on the mechanisms of preventative e-mental health interventions in the workplace regarding productivity outcomes. This study adds evidence of the impact of the intervention on productivity measures. Future interventional studies focusing on mental health in the workplace context should consider both theory and evidence when further developing interventions. Future studies should include a more representative sample and a longer follow-up to further disentangle the effects of e-mental health in occupational settings.This project received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program under grant agreement number 725832. CdM received funding in the form of a predoctoral grant from the Generalitat de Catalunya (PIF-Salut grant, code SLT017/20/000138). BO is supported by a Miguel Servet (CP20/00040) contract, funded by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III and cofunded by the European Union (ERDF/ESF, “Investing in your future”).Authors' Contributions: SW conceptualized and designed the randomized controlled trial. CL implemented the study and organized the database. CdM wrote the manuscript, performed the statistical analyses, interpreted the results, and created the tables and figures with the assistance of BO, MVM, and JMH. All authors contributed to the manuscript revision and approved the submitted version.Conflicts of Interest: SW was an independent research consultant with Soma Analytics/DNAFit, the developers and providers of the app. As a freelancer, she was compensated for her work on this research by Soma Analytics/DNAFit as part of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 project. CL is a cofounder and was an employee of Soma Analytics/DNAFit, the developers and providers of the app. The other authors declare no conflict of interest.
This randomized study was retrospectively registered. The authors prospectively registered their project on a public repository, however, the repository was not a clinical trial registry. The editor granted an exception from ICMJE rules mandating prospective registration of randomized trials because the risk of bias appears low. However, readers are advised to carefully assess the validity of any potential explicit or implicit claims related to primary outcomes or effectiveness, as retrospective registration does not prevent authors from changing their outcome measures retrospectively.CONSORT EHEALTH Checklist (V 1.6.1).