Web-based occupational stress prevention in German micro- and small-sized enterprises - process evaluation results of an implementation study

• Published in: BMC public health Vol. 24; no. 1; pp. 1618 - 22
• Main Authors: Engels, Miriam, Scheepers, Louisa, Engels, Judith, Boß, Leif, Kuhlmann, Rebekka, Kuske, Johanna, Lesener, Lutz, Pavlista, Valeria, Schmidt-Stiedenroth, Kira, Diebig, Mathias, Ruhle, Sascha A, Zapkau, Florian B, Angerer, Peter, Hoewner, Jörg, Lehr, Dirk, Schwens, Christian, Süß, Stefan, Wulf, Ines C, Dragano, Nico
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 17-06-2024; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Acceptability; Accuracy; Adult; Behavior modification; Cardiovascular diseases; Care and treatment; Costs; Depression, Mental; Diagnosis; Employees; Employers; Evaluation; Feasibility studies; Female; Germany; Humans; Internet; Internet-Based Intervention; Intervention; Job stress; Male; Mental health; Micro- and small-sized enterprises; Middle Aged; Occupational health; Occupational stress; Occupational Stress - prevention & control; Prevention; Program Evaluation; Psychological stress; Psychosocial risk assessment, stress management; Qualitative Research; Risk assessment; Risk factors; Small Business; Stress; Temporal perception; Web-based intervention; Germany; Netherlands; Europe; Micro- and small-sized enterprises; Occupational health; Web-based intervention; Psychosocial risk assessment, stress management
• ISSN: 1471-2458; 1471-2458
• DOI: 10.1186/s12889-024-19102-8

Structural and behavioral interventions to manage work-related stress are effective in employees. Nonetheless, they have been implemented insufficiently, particularly in micro- and small-sized enterprises (MSE). Main barriers include a lack of knowledge and limited resources, which could potentially be overcome with simplified web-based alternatives for occupational stress prevention. However, there is a lack of implementation research about web-based prevention in realistic settings of MSE.
The aim of this study is to evaluate the implementation process and success of an integrated web-based platform for occupational stress prevention ("System P") and to identify potential barriers for its uptake and use in MSE in Germany.
This study with a mixed-methods approach investigates eight process-related outcomes in a quantitative part I (adoption, reach, penetration, fidelity/dose, costs, acceptability) and a qualitative part II (acceptability, appropriateness and feasibility). Part I has a pre-post design with two measurements (6 months apart) with 98 individual participants and part II consists of 12 semi-structured interviews with managers and intercorporate stakeholders.
Part I revealed shortcomings in the implementation process. Adoption/Reach: Despite extensive marketing efforts, less than 1% of the contacted MSE responded to the offer of System P. A total of 40 MSE registered, 24 of which, characterized by good psychosocial safety climate, adopted System P. Penetration: Within these 24 MSE, 15% of the employees used the system. Fidelity/Dose: 11 MSE started a psychosocial risk-assessment (PRA), and no MSE finished it. The stress-management training (SMT) was started by 25 users and completed by 8.
The use of System P was free of charge, but the time required to engage with was an indirect cost. Part II added insights on the perception of the web-based intervention: Acceptance of System P by users and stakeholders was good and it was assessed as appropriate for MSE. Results for feasibility were mixed.
Although System P was generally perceived as useful and appropriate, only a small number of contacted MSE implemented it as intended. Prior experience and sensitivity for occupational (stress) prevention were mentioned as key facilitators, while (perceived) indirect costs were a key barrier. Enabling MSE to independently manage stress prevention online did not result in successful implementation. Increasing external support could be a solution. ⁺ FULL PROJECT NAME: "PragmatiKK - Pragmatische Lösungen für die Implementation von Maßnahmen zur Stressprävention in Kleinst- und Kleinbetrieben" (= Pragmatic solutions for the implementation of stress prevention interventions in micro and small-sized enterprises).
German Register of Clinical Studies (DRKS) DRKS00026154, date of registration 2021-09-16.