Selected characteristics of the 16 included meta-analyses
| Study | Interventions | Aim | Population details | Content of interventions | Included studies | No of participants |
| Carolan, 201722 | 1) Universal 3) Indicated | Identify the effectiveness of occupational digital mental health interventions in enhancing employee psychological well-being and increasing work effectiveness. | 1) General working population from mixed occupations 3) Workers from mixed occupations with symptoms of depression, stress and insomnia | Psychosocial (delivered through e-health): Various internet-delivered psychological interventions, including CBT-based, stress and coping, mindfulness social cognitive theory, problem-solving training, positive psychology, and acceptance and commitment therapy. | 21 RCTs | 5260 |
| Fendel, 202121 | 2) Selective | Evaluate the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions in reducing burnout and stress among physicians. | Healthcare (physicians) | Psychosocial: Mindfulness-based interventions. | 25 studies (6 RCTs) | 326 |
| Guillaumie, 201738 | 2) Selective | Review the scientific literature on the effects of mindfulness on nurses and nursing practices. | Healthcare (nurses) | Psychosocial: Mindfulness-based interventions. | 32 studies (16 RCTs) | 875 |
| Kunzler, 202036 | 2) Selective | Assess the effects of interventions to foster resilience in healthcare professionals, that is, healthcare staff delivering direct medical care (eg, nurses, physicians, hospital personnel) and allied healthcare staff (eg, social workers, psychologists). | Healthcare (nurses, physicians, social workers, psychologists, etc) | Psychosocial: Psychological interventions for resilience (mindfulness, CBT, attention and interpretation therapy, stress inoculation, etc). | 44 RCTs | 6892 |
| Maricuţoiu, 201623 | 1) Universal 3) Indicated | Assess the effectiveness of controlled interventions on reducing employees’ burnout. | 1) General working population from mixed occupations 3) Workers from mixed occupations with elevated symptoms of burnout | Psychosocial: CBT, relaxation, interpersonal, soft skills, hard skills, etc. | 47 studies (34 RCTs) | 2335 |
| Melnyk, 202035 | 2) Selective | Focus on randomised controlled trials (RCTs) with physicians and nurses that tested interventions designed to improve their mental health, well-being, physical health, and lifestyle behaviours. | Healthcare (nurses and physicians) | Mixed (psychosocial, physical activity, lifestyle): Mindfulness, lifestyle behavioural interventions, physical activity and healthy eating, stress-reduction interventions and CBT. | 29 RCTs (17 in MA) | 2708 |
| Nigatu, 201940 | 3) Indicated | Conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis on the effectiveness of indicated interventions for reducing depressive symptoms in the workplace. | Workers from mixed occupations with elevated depressive symptoms | Psychosocial: CBT, mental health literacy, psychoeducation, stress management, problem-solving, etc. | 16 RCTs | 2522 |
| Oakman, 201831 | 1) Universal | Analyse whether workplace interventions positively impact work ability. | General working population from mixed occupations | Mixed (physical activity, lifestyle): Exercise programmes and education of individuals on healthy behaviours or coping strategies. | 17 RCTs (13 in MA, 9 including*) | 1502 |
| Petrie, 201937 | 2) Selective | Assess which, if any, interventions are effective at reducing or preventing symptoms of common mental health disorders or suicidality in physicians. | Healthcare (physicians) | Psychosocial: Psychological interventions (CBT, mindfulness, supportive, coping). | 8 (7 RCTs) | 1023 |
| Phillips, 201934 | 1) Universal 3) Indicated | Investigate the effectiveness of occupational e-mental health interventions aimed at stress, depression, anxiety, burnout, insomnia, mindfulness, well-being, and alcohol misuse. | 1) General working population from mixed occupations 3) Workers from mixed occupations with symptoms of mental health conditions (depression, stress, anxiety) | Psychosocial (delivered through e-health): CBT, normative personalised feedback, mindfulness, psychoeducation, cognitive training, problem-solving training, positive psychology, etc. | 50 RCTs (34 in MA) | 10 232 |
| Sakuraya, 202030 | 1) Universal | Conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs to improve SWB, including evaluative, hedonic and eudaemonic well-being, and mental components of QoL of the working population. | Workers from mixed occupations | Mixed (psychosocial, physical activity, lifestyle): Physical activity, psychological (mindfulness, CBT, meaning-centred, resilience), environmental, multicomponent intervention, ergonomics, etc. | 39 RCTs (31 in MA) | NR |
| Slemp, 201933 | 1) Universal 2) Selective | Efficacy of contemplative interventions in reducing psychological distress in employees. | 1) General working population from mixed occupations 2) Healthcare (various healthcare professionals) | Psychosocial: Contemplative interventions (mindfulness, meditation, acceptance and commitment, and other practices). | 119 studies (54 RCTs) | 3588 |
| Stratton, 201729 | 1) Universal 3) Indicated | Evaluate the evidence for the effectiveness and examine the relative efficacy of different types of e-health interventions for employees. | 1) General working population from mixed occupations 3) Workers from mixed occupations with symptoms of mental health conditions (eg, depression, stress) | Psychosocial (delivered through e-health): e-health mental health interventions (app or web-based) focused on the mental health of employees (CBT, stress management, mindfulness, etc). | 23 studies (22 RCTs) | 5720 |
| Vega-Escaño, 202032 | 1) Universal | Evaluate the impact of interventions to improve or reduce insomnia in the workforce through randomised clinical trials. | Workers from mixed occupations | Psychosocial: Stress management, CBT, expressive writing, etc. | 22 RCTs (12 in MA) | 1620 |
| Wasson, 202039 | 2) Selective | Synthesise the effects of mindfulness-based interventions on self-compassion among healthcare professionals. | Healthcare (various healthcare professionals) | Psychosocial: Mindfulness-based interventions. | 11 studies (6 RCTs) | 349 |
| West, 201620 | 2) Selective | Interventions to prevent and reduce physician burnout. | Healthcare (physicians) | Psychosocial: Small group curricula, stress management and self-care training, communication skills training, belonging intervention, etc. | 15 RCTs | 716 |
Whenever possible, the number of participants is based on the randomised trials and on the exact number of participants who were included in the analyses.
Content of interventions: We have specified the delivery mode of the interventions when a meta-analysis was completely focused on only one type of delivery mode (ie, e-health). When the mode of delivery is not specified, it means that different delivery formats could be included in the review (eg, individual, group, e-health).
*Nine were individual-level interventions, and their effects were reported separately.
CBT, cognitive–behavioral therapy; MA, meta-analysis; MH, mental health; NR, not reported; QoL, quality of life; SWB, subjective well-being.