Evidence map›Paper›PMID 24800966›Full record

Trial reportJournal of medical Internet research2014

Short-term effects of a web-based guided self-help intervention for employees with depressive symptoms: randomized controlled trial.

Anna S Geraedts, Annet M Kleiboer, Noortje M Wiezer, Willem van Mechelen, Pim Cuijpers

Open access · goldAbstract readComparative StudyRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Journal of medical Internet research, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 10 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
19citing papers in PubMed, 10 pooled it
5.1field-weighted citation impact, top 4% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

19 citing papers in PubMed, 10 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 52 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Anna S GeraedtsVU University Amsterdam, Department of Clinical Psychology, Amsterdam, Netherlands. a.s.geraedts@vu.nl.
Annet M Kleiboer
Noortje M Wiezer
Willem van Mechelen
Pim Cuijpers
Amsterdam UMC Location VUmc · NLEMGO Institute for Health and Care Research · NLVrije Universiteit Amsterdam · NL

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDepressive disorders are highly prevalent in the working population and are associated with excessive costs. The evidence for effective worker-directed interventions for employees with depressive symptoms is limited. Treating employees with depressive symptoms before sick leave via the Internet could be beneficial and cost saving.

objectiveIn this study, we developed and tested the effectiveness of a Web-based guided self-help course for employees with depressive symptoms. We report on the posttreatment effectiveness of the intervention.

methodsThis study is a two-arm randomized controlled trial comparing a Web-based guided self-help course to care as usual (CAU). We recruited employees from 6 different companies via the companies' intranet and posters. The main inclusion criterion was elevated depressive symptoms as measured by a score of ≥16 on the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale (CES-D). The intervention (Happy@Work) was based on problem-solving treatment and cognitive therapy and consisted of 6 weekly lessons. Participants were asked to submit their weekly assignment via the website after completion. They subsequently received feedback from a coach via the website. Self-report questionnaires on depressive symptoms (CES-D; primary outcome), anxiety measured by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), burnout measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), and work performance measured by the Health and Work Performance Questionnaire (HPQ; secondary outcomes) were completed at baseline and at posttreatment.

resultsA total of 231 employees were randomized to either the intervention group (n=116) or CAU (n=115).The posttreatment assessment was completed by 171 (74.0%) participants. Both the intervention and the CAU group showed significant improvements in the primary outcome of depressive symptoms, but no differences between the conditions was found (d=0.16, 95% CI -0.10 to 0.41, P=.29). Significant but small effects in favor of the intervention group were found for anxiety symptoms (d=0.16, 95% CI -0.09 to 0.42, P=.04) and exhaustion (d=0.17, 95% CI -0.09 to 0.43, P=.02).

conclusionsThis study showed that a Web-based guided self-help course for employees with depressive symptoms was not more effective in reducing depressive symptoms among employees than CAU. Large improvements in depressive symptoms in the CAU group were unforeseen and potential explanations are discussed.

Indexed as

InternetOccupational Health ServicesSelf CareAdultAnxietyCognitive Behavioral TherapyDepressionFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedProblem SolvingSurveys and Questionnairesdepression, employees, occupational therapy, Internet, prevention

Identifiers

PMID24800966
PMCPMC4026573
OpenAlexW4253729340

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.