Eklund Caroline, Söderlund Anne, Elfström Magnus L
Department of Physical Therapy, School of Health, Care and Social Welfare, Mälardalen University, Västerås, Sweden.
Department of Psychology, School of Health, Care and Social Welfare, Mälardalen University, Eskilstuna, Sweden.
JMIR Ment Health. 2021 Dec 9;8(12):e17314. doi: 10.2196/17314.
Stress is one of the most common reasons for sick leave. Web-based interventions have the potential to reach an unlimited number of users at a low cost and have been shown to be effective in addressing several health-related problems. Handling stress on an individual level is related to behavior change. To support behavioral changes in stress management, My Stress Control (MSC) was developed. The development of MSC was based on several health psychology theories and models; however, central in the development were Social Cognitive Theory, Theory of Reasoned Action, Theory of Planned Behavior, Transactional Theory of Stress and Coping, and the Transtheoretical Model and Stages of Change. MSC is a fully automated program. The program is tailored to the user's specific needs for stress management and behavior change.
In this study, we aim to conduct a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the extent to which MSC affects perceived stress in persons experiencing work-related stress.
This was a randomized controlled trial with 2 arms. Study participants were recruited by visiting the worksites and workplace meetings. Participants were assigned to the intervention or wait-list group. Web-based questionnaires were used before and after the intervention to collect data. Perceived stress measured using the Perceived Stress Scale-14 was the primary outcome measurement. Analyses were conducted for both between-group and within-group changes.
A total of 92 participants were included in this study: 48 (52%) in the intervention group and 44 (48%) in the wait-list group. Overall, 25% (12/48) of participants in the intervention group and 43% (19/44) of participants in the wait-list group completed the postintervention assessment. There were no significant effects on perceived stress between the intervention and wait-list groups or within the groups. A small effect size (Cohen d=0.25) was found when comparing mean change over time on the primary outcome measure between the intervention and wait-list groups. In addition, a small effect size was found between pre- and postintervention assessments within the intervention group (Cohen d=0.38) as well as within the wait-list group (Cohen d=0.25).
The effect of MSC on perceived stress remains uncertain. As adherence was low in the intervention group, elements or features that facilitate adherence and engagement must be further developed before firmer conclusions regarding the effect of MSC can be made.
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03077568; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03077568.
压力是病假最常见的原因之一。基于网络的干预措施有可能以低成本覆盖无限数量的用户，并且已被证明在解决一些与健康相关的问题方面是有效的。在个体层面应对压力与行为改变有关。为了支持压力管理方面的行为改变，开发了“我的压力控制”（MSC）。MSC的开发基于多种健康心理学理论和模型；然而，其开发的核心是社会认知理论、理性行动理论、计划行为理论、压力与应对的交易理论以及跨理论模型和改变阶段。MSC是一个全自动程序。该程序根据用户在压力管理和行为改变方面的特定需求量身定制。
在本研究中，我们旨在进行一项随机对照试验，以评估MSC对经历工作相关压力的人群感知压力的影响程度。
这是一项双臂随机对照试验。通过走访工作场所和参加职场会议招募研究参与者。参与者被分配到干预组或等待名单组。在干预前后使用基于网络的问卷收集数据。使用感知压力量表 - 14测量的感知压力是主要结局指标。对组间和组内变化均进行了分析。
本研究共纳入92名参与者：干预组48名（52%），等待名单组44名（48%）。总体而言，干预组25%（12/48）的参与者和等待名单组43%（19/44）的参与者完成了干预后评估。干预组与等待名单组之间或组内对感知压力均无显著影响。在比较干预组和等待名单组主要结局指标随时间的平均变化时，发现效应量较小（科恩d = 0.25）。此外，在干预组内干预前后评估之间（科恩d = 0.38）以及等待名单组内（科恩d = 0.25）也发现了较小的效应量。
MSC对感知压力的影响仍不确定。由于干预组的依从性较低，在就MSC的效果得出更确凿的结论之前，必须进一步开发有助于提高依从性和参与度的要素或特征。
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03077568；https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03077568
