mHealth Intervention for Work-Related Stress
Condition: Work Related Stress
MeSH terms: Occupational Stress
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The objective of the trial is to pilot test the study protocol of a preventive, low-intensive
      mobile health (mHealth) intervention for work-related stress among nursing students. Work
      stress is a wide-spread problem affecting individual health as well as incurring substantial
      societal costs. mHealth solutions are among the most promising options for providing
      effective, scalable, and standardized interventions to employees.
    

Detailed description: 
      Researchers generally agree that recovery is a key buffer against the negative consequences
      of stress. Recovery behaviors, such as mindfulness and physical activity, are well-known to
      have a positive effect on stress-related health problems. For this reason, a behavior change
      intervention that successfully improves recovery may be effective in combating the long-term
      effects of stress. In this pilot study, three groups of participants received different
      versions of an intervention, each version containing a distinct set of recovery strategies.

      The motivation of the present study is to pilot test the intervention and a study protocol in
      preparation for a future randomized controlled trial (RCT). Pilot testing the intervention
      and study procedures at an early stage is critical to identify potential pitfalls that need
      to be addressed before conducting a full-scale trial. Through investigating the study and
      intervention in preparatory phases we can refine the study protocol and intervention design
      in order to maximize the chances of a successful RCT.

      The research questions for this pilot study are:

        1. Data collection procedure - What is the recruitment and retention rate of invited
           participants? Does the randomization algorithm function properly?

        2. Engagement - How often do participants use the intervention? Do they find the
           application easy and engaging to use?

        3. Acceptability - Do participants find the intervention overall satisfactory and perceive
           it as beneficial? Is the digital tool technically stable?

        4. Measurement quality - What is the completion rate for questionnaire items? What is the
           within-person variability in the daily measures?
    

Intervention name(s): Daily Intervention for Active Recovery
Intervention type(s): Behavioral
Intervention description(s): Daily Intervention for Active Recovery - DIARY - is a 28-day intervention during which participants are prompted once daily to engage with intervention content. Each daily intervention interaction includes a short questionnaire with questions regarding sleep quality, current mood (e.g., tense, relaxed), and energy levels. Participants were prompted to open the application through a notification at 18:00 each evening. In case they did not fill out the questionnaire, an additional reminder notification was sent out at 20:00. The questionnaire closed each night at 03:00 am, at which point it was no longer possible to access the questionnaire for that day. The questionnaire took at most 5 minutes to complete. Upon completing the daily questionnaire participants received a prompt - a "bit-size" amount of information regarding stress and recovery as well as suggestions for a specific recovery strategy.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single (Participant)
Primary purpose: Prevention
Keywords: work stress; work-related stress; occupational stress