JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Workplace mental health is one of the global health concerns. Preventing mental health problems and promoting mental well-being in the workplace are important aspects of ensuring population health. This can be achieved by improving the mental health literacy of the public, particularly workers.

Objective:

This study aims to evaluate the purposely built mHealth platform as a health-related App. It also aims to examine the efficacy of a mHealth psychoeducation program on mental health literacy in the workplace. The main interest of this report is the immediate and medium-term effect of the program on the mental health literacy of workers.

Methods:

This phase III wait-listed cluster randomised controlled trial recruited 456 employees of specific industries with high levels of work-related stress. A separate sample of 70 individuals was used for the evaluation of the mHealth platform. The Australian National Mental Health Literacy and Stigma Survey and the Mobile Apps Rating Scale (MARS) were used to assess mental health literacy and to evaluate the App. For the trial and follow-up data, they were analysed by the Generalised Linear Latent And Mixed Model (GLLAMM) with adjustments for the clustering effect of work sites and repeated measures.

Results:

Evaluation of the mHealth program, using a sample of 70 respondents, resulted in average scores of the four major domains ranging from 3.8 to 4.2, with Engagement having the lowest score (s.d.=0.6). Of the 456 participants of the trial, 236 responded to the follow-up survey. Most MHL outcomes obtained significant results immediately after the intervention and across time. After adjusting for the clustering effect, the post-intervention weighted mean scores were significantly higher in the intervention group for correct recognition of a mental problem, help-seeking, and stigmatisation, in comparison to the controls with 0.2 (s.e.=0.1), 0.9 (s.e.=0.2), 1.8 (s.e.=0.4) respectively. There was a significant increase in help-seeking intention (P=0.014) and a reduction in stigmatisation and social distancing (P<0.001) at a 3-month follow-up.

Conclusions:

The mHealth platform is evaluated with satisfactory performance in terms of functionality, aesthetics, information content, and utility in enhancing mental health literacy. The psychoeducation intervention program, using this platform, has immediate and medium-term effects of retaining and improving mental health literacy. It is anticipated that ongoing development in Digital Health will provide great benefits in improving the mental health of the global population. Clinical Trial: The trial was registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR, Registration number: ACTRN12619000464167).