ArticleInternational archives of occupational and environmental health2007
A 2-year cohort study on the impact of an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) on depression and suicidal thoughts in male Japanese workers.
Article in International archives of occupational and environmental health, 2007. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 46 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effectiveness and gender-tailoring of suicide prevention interventions for men: a systematic review.BMC public health · 2026Pooled it
- Workplace interventions that aim to improve employee health and well-being in male-dominated industries: a systematic review.Occupational and environmental medicine · 2022Pooled it
- Depression in the workplace: a systematic review of evidence-based prevention strategies.International archives of occupational and environmental health · 2012Pooled it
- What do we know about the non-work determinants of workers' mental health? A systematic review of longitudinal studies.BMC public health · 2011Pooled it
- Association between depressive symptoms and employment type of Korean workers: the Fifth Korean Working Conditions Survey.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Article
- Validation of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 for Screening Depressive Disorders among Korean Employees: A Longitudinal Study of the National Health Examination Data.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Exploring men's use of mental health support offered by an Australian Employee Assistance Program (EAP): perspectives from a focus-group study with males working in blue- and white-collar industries.International journal of mental health systems · 2021Article
- Mental Ill-Health Risk Factors in the Construction Industry: Systematic Review.Journal of construction engineering and management · 2020Article
- Risk Factors for Non-Communicable Diseases at Baseline and Their Short-Term Changes in a Workplace Cohort in Singapore.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Article
- Protocol for evaluating a workplace intervention within the framework of consultations for suffering at work in French-speaking Switzerland.Contemporary clinical trials communications · 2019Article
- Workplace homicides among U.S. women: the role of intimate partner violence.Annals of epidemiology · 2012Article
- Job strain, depressive symptoms, and drinking behavior among older adults: results from the health and retirement study.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2011Article
- Getting to Know You: Occupational Health Researchers Investigate Employee Assistance Professionals' Approaches to Workplace Stress.Journal of workplace behavioral health · 2010Article
- Work-related stress and psychosomatic medicine.BioPsychoSocial medicine · 2010Article
- A proposed approach to suicide prevention in Japan: the use of self-perceived symptoms as indicators of depression and suicidal ideation.Environmental health and preventive medicine · 2008Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveDepression and suicide-related behaviours are important issues for workers, and the number of Japanese companies contracting with the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to promote employees' mental health has recently increased. However, no longitudinal studies have reported that the EAP maintains or improves the overall level of depression among employees qualitatively. Thus, we attempted to assess the impact of the EAP on depression and suicide-related behaviours in the workplace.
methodsA cohort study was conducted on 283 male Japanese employees aged 22-38 years at a Japanese information-technology company introducing the EAP. Because the privacy policy of the EAP service made it difficult to perform a randomised design in the workplace, 22 men working at an affiliated company without the EAP were used as a reference group. All the subjects completed the 17-item Hamilton Depression Scale (HAM-D) and Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) consisting of job demands, control, and social support before the EAP was introduced to establish a baseline and after 2 years.
resultsIn the EAP group, the total HAM-D scores significantly decreased after the 2-year study period (P=0.0011); the changes in the scores of the five HAM-D items (i.e., suicidal thoughts, agitation, psychomotor retardation, guilt, and depressed mood) were significant. Specifically, 19 (86%) of the 22 workers with a positive response to the suicidal thoughts item (i.e., score >or= 1) at baseline reported that they no longer had suicidal thoughts (i.e., score=0) after the 2 year study period. No significant changes were observed in the reference group. The three JCQ scores were not significantly different between the baseline and after the 2 year study period in both groups.
conclusionAlthough further studies are needed, EAPs may be a promising strategy for maintaining the good mental health of workers.
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