Trial reportJournal of medical Internet research2024
A Universal Digital Stress Management Intervention for Employees: Randomized Controlled Trial with Health-Economic Evaluation.
Trial report in Journal of medical Internet research, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The Emerging Roles of AI in Self-Directed Stress Management: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Pooled it
- Occupational health interventions' impact on absenteeism and economic returns: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health · 2026Pooled it
- The Cost-Effectiveness of Digitally Supported Mental Well-Being Prevention and Promotion Targeting Nonclinical Adult Populations: Systematic Review.JMIR mental health · 2025Pooled it
- Effectiveness of and Mechanisms of Change in a Self-Help Web- and App-Based Resilience Intervention on Perceived Stress in the General Working Population: Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Trial
- Health economic evaluation of health promotion and disease prevention in Germany: a scoping review.Health economics review · 2026Review
- Research progress on chronic stress stimulation and gastric cancer metastasis.Discover oncology · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundStress is highly prevalent and known to be a risk factor for a wide range of physical and mental disorders. The effectiveness of digital stress management interventions has been confirmed; however, research on its economic merits is still limited.
objectiveThis study aims to assess the cost-effectiveness, cost-utility, and cost-benefit of a universal digital stress management intervention for employees compared with a waitlist control condition within a time horizon of 6 months.
methodsRecruitment was directed at the German working population. A sample of 396 employees was randomly assigned to the intervention group (n=198) or the waitlist control condition (WLC) group (n=198). The digital stress management intervention included 7 sessions plus 1 booster session, which was offered without therapeutic guidance. Health service use, patient and family expenditures, and productivity losses were self-assessed and used for costing from a societal and an employer's perspective. Costs were related to symptom-free status (PSS-10 [Perceived Stress Scale] score 2 SDs below the study population baseline mean) and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) gained. The sampling error was handled using nonparametric bootstrapping.
resultsFrom a societal perspective, the digital intervention was likely to be dominant compared with WLC, with a 56% probability of being cost-effective at a willingness-to-pay (WTP) of €0 per symptom-free person gained. At the same WTP threshold, the digital intervention had a probability of 55% being cost-effective per QALY gained relative to the WLC. This probability increased to 80% at a societal WTP of €20,000 per QALY gained. Taking the employer's perspective, the digital intervention showed a probability of a positive return on investment of 78%.
conclusionsDigital preventive stress management for employees appears to be cost-effective societally and provides a favorable return on investment for employers.
trial registrationGerman Clinical Trials Register DRKS00005699; https://drks.de/search/en/trial/DRKS00005699.
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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.