Imamura Kotaro, Sasaki Natsu, Sekiya Yuki, Watanabe Kazuhiro, Sakuraya Asuka, Matsuyama Yutaka, Nishi Daisuke, Kawakami Norito
Department of Mental Health, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Department of Public Health, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Sagamihara, Japan.
JMIR Form Res. 2022 Mar 10;6(3):e33883. doi: 10.2196/33883.
The prolonged COVID-19 pandemic has affected mental health among workers. Psychoeducational intervention via a website could be effective for primary prevention of mental illness among workers in the current COVID-19 pandemic.
The aim of this randomized controlled trial is to examine the effect of a newly developed online psychoeducational website named Imacoco Care on reducing psychological distress and fear about COVID-19 infection among workers.
Participants in the study were recruited from registered members of a web survey company in Japan. Participants who fulfilled the eligibility criteria were randomly allocated to the intervention or control group. Participants in the intervention group were invited to access the Imacoco Care program within a month after the baseline survey. The Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6) and the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) scores were obtained at baseline and at 1- and 3-month follow-ups.
A total of 1200 workers were randomly allocated to the intervention and control groups (n=600 [50%] per group). The Imacoco Care intervention group showed a significant favorable effect on K6 scores (P=.03) with a small effect size (ES; Cohen d=-0.14) and an adverse effect on FCV-19S scores (P=.01) with a small ES (Cohen d=0.16) at 3-month follow-up. In the per protocol analysis (including only participants who had read the Imacoco Care content at least 1 time), the Imacoco Care intervention group also showed a significant favorable effect on reducing K6 scores (P=.03), while an adverse effect on FCV-19S scores was not significant (P=.06) in the intervention group at 3-month follow-up.
A web-based psychoeducation approach may be effective for improving psychological distress among workers; however, it may be important not only to distribute information but also to encourage active engagement with the content of the program to prevent adverse effects of psychoeducational intervention.
University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN-CTR) UMIN000042556; https://upload.umin.ac.jp/cgi-open-bin/ctr_e/ctr_view.cgi?recptno=R000048548.
长期的新冠疫情影响了劳动者的心理健康。在当前新冠疫情期间，通过网站进行心理教育干预可能对劳动者心理疾病的一级预防有效。
这项随机对照试验的目的是研究一个名为Imacoco Care的新开发的在线心理教育网站对减轻劳动者对新冠感染的心理困扰和恐惧的效果。
研究参与者从日本一家网络调查公司的注册会员中招募。符合纳入标准的参与者被随机分配到干预组或对照组。干预组的参与者在基线调查后的一个月内被邀请访问Imacoco Care项目。在基线以及1个月和3个月随访时获取凯斯勒心理困扰量表（K6）和新冠恐惧量表（FCV-19S）的得分。
总共1200名劳动者被随机分配到干预组和对照组（每组n = 600 [50%]）。在3个月随访时，Imacoco Care干预组在K6得分上显示出显著的有益效果（P = .03），效应量较小（ES；科恩d = -0.14），而在FCV-19S得分上有不利影响（P = .01），效应量较小（科恩d = 0.16）。在符合方案分析中（仅包括至少阅读过1次Imacoco Care内容的参与者），Imacoco Care干预组在3个月随访时对降低K6得分也显示出显著的有益效果（P = .03），而干预组对FCV-19S得分的不利影响不显著（P = .06）。
基于网络的心理教育方法可能对改善劳动者的心理困扰有效；然而，不仅要传播信息，还鼓励积极参与项目内容，对于预防心理教育干预的不良影响可能很重要。
大学医院医学信息网络临床试验注册中心（UMIN-CTR）UMIN000042556；https://upload.umin.ac.jp/cgi-open-bin/ctr_e/ctr_view.cgi?recptno=R000048548 。
