Discussion
depressive symptoms
Despite low uptake of the There was no evidence that the While effect sizes were small, overall, these results are encouraging, with some evidence that face-to-face training in conjunction with the There is growing evidence of the utility of digital technologies including smartphone applications and web-based interventions in supporting the treatment and management of depressive symptoms [We also note that help-seeking intentions from formal and informal sources of help for both suicidal thoughts and emotional problems decreased at follow-up for the intervention and control groups. This may be due to some broader societal or construction related factors that impacted on help-seeking intentions for both groups. As noted, follow-up for both treatment groups occurred as the country was experiencing the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is possible that this impacted on help-seeking intentions for both groups.There are several key limitations of this analysis. First, the pandemic represented a major disruption to our research program. The impact of COVID-19 on the operation of construction sites varied across state jurisdictions, with some sites closed for periods of time, some operating with reduced numbers of workers and others having restrictions imposed in terms of access, interaction and engagement. While the effects of the pandemic impacted many elements of the research program including implementation of the intervention, the disruption was most starkly revealed by the attrition of participants—this was substantial, despite our success in recruiting more participants than defined in our protocol. The sample drop-out reduced power to detect an intervention effect and makes it difficult to ascertain the extent to which the intervention was impacted by implementation failure related to COVID-19, program ineffectiveness, or the program not sufficiently meeting the needs of participants. Second, uptake of the app was limited, with only 17% of those allocated to the While these results are promising, there is a need for further research to assess the extent to which the 