Effects of selective interventions for supporting mental health at the workplace
| Subtypes of interventions | Outcome domain | Specific outcome | k | n | SMD (95% CI) | P value | I 2 (95% CI) | Certainty* | Source |
| Psychosocial, physical activity or lifestyle (various types) | MH symptoms | Stress | 7 | 420 | 0.6 (NA) | <0.00001 | NA | ⊕⊕◯◯ | Melnyk, 202035 |
| Anxiety | 5 | 738 | 0.2 (NA) | 0.03 | NA | ⊕⊕◯◯ | |||
| Depression | 3 | 719 | 0.13 (NA) | 0.001 | NA | ⊕⊕◯◯ | |||
| Positive MH | Resilience | 4 | 154 | 0.58 (NA) | 0.001 | NA | ⊕◯◯◯ | ||
| Mindfulness | 5 | 283 | 0.85 (NA) | <0.00001 | NA | ⊕◯◯◯ | |||
| QoL and Funct. | QoL | 3 | 98 | 0.28 (NA) | 0.2 | NA | ⊕◯◯◯ | ||
| Psychosocial (various types) | MH symptoms | Anxiety | 5 | 231 | 0.06 (−0.23 to 0.35) | 0.67 | 0 (0 to 79) | ⊕◯◯◯ | Kunzler, 202036 |
| Depression | 14 | 788 | 0.29 (0.09 to 0.50) | 0.005 | 42 (0 to 69) | ⊕◯◯◯ | |||
| Stress | 17 | 997 | 0.61 (0.15 to 1.07) | 0.01 | 90 (86 to 93) | ⊕◯◯◯ | |||
| Burnout (overall) | 5 | 410 | MD (% abs. red MBI): 6 (−7 to 19) | 0.37 | 45 (NA) | ⊕⊕◯◯ | West, 201620 | ||
| Burnout (Exhaust.) | 12 | 499 | MD (% abs. red MBI): 2.06 (0.27 to 3.86) | 0.02 | 15 (NA) | ⊕⊕⊕◯ | |||
| Burnout (Depers.) | 11 | 472 | MD (% abs. red MBI): 0.92 (−0.05 to 1.90) | 0.06 | 31 (NA) | ⊕⊕⊕◯ | |||
| Positive MH | Well-being or QoL | 13 | 1494 | 0.14 (−0.01 to 0.30) | 0.07 | 31 (0 to 64) | ⊕◯◯◯ | Kunzler, 202036 | |
| Optimism | 3 | 169 | 0.41 (0.10 to 0.72) | 0.009 | 0 (0 to 90) | ⊕◯◯◯ | |||
| Self-efficacy | 6 | 461 | 0.43 (0.25 to 0.62) | <0.00001 | 0 (0 to 75) | ⊕◯◯◯ | |||
| Positive emotions | 2 | 212 | 0.85 (0.17 to 1.53) | 0.01 | 82 (NA) | ⊕◯◯◯ | |||
| Resilience | 12 | 690 | 0.45 (0.25 to 0.65) | <0.0001 | 41 (0 to 70) | ⊕◯◯◯ | |||
| Active coping | 3 | 137 | 0.28 (−0.31 to 0.87) | 0.35 | 52 (0 to 86) | ⊕◯◯◯ | |||
| Adverse effects | Adverse events | 3 | 784 | No potential adverse or undesired effects | ⊕⊕◯◯ | ||||
| Suicide | Suicidal ideation | 1 | 199 | RR=0.40 (0.17 to 0.91) | 0.03 | NA | ⊕◯◯◯ | Petrie, 201937 | |
| Psychosocial (various types) for healthcare workers with elevated symptoms of burnout (selective–indicated) | MH symptoms | Burnout (Exhaust.) | 8 | 505 | MD (% abs. red. MBI): 13.14 (4.70 to 21.58) | 0.002 | 0 (0 to 68) | ⊕⊕⊕◯ | West, 201620 |
| Burnout (Depers.) | 6 | 265 | MD (% abs. red MBI): −0.41 (−10.08 to 9.25) | 0.93 | 7 (0 to 76) | ⊕◯◯◯ | |||
| Psychosocial (mindfulness and contemplative interventions) | MH symptoms | Burnout | 5 | 288 | 0.26 (0.03 to 0.50) | 0.03 | 0 (0 to 76) | ⊕⊕⊕◯ | Fendel, 202121 |
| Stress | 4 | 136 | 0.55 (0.14 to 0.95) | <0.01 | 24 (0 to 88) | ⊕⊕⊕◯ | |||
| General distress | 18 | 849 | 0.21 (0.04 to 0.38) | NA | 42 (0 to 67) | ⊕⊕⊕◯ | Slemp, 201933 | ||
| Anxiety (state) | 6 | 231 | 0.78 (0.18 to 1.39) | <0.05 | 77 (NA) | ⊕◯◯◯ | Guillaumie, 201738 | ||
| Depression | 4 | 214 | 0.51 (0.23 to 0.78) | <0.05 | 0 (NA) | ⊕⊕⊕◯ | |||
| Work related | Work satisfaction | 3 | 67 | 0.23 (−0.27 to 0.72) | ns | 0 (NA) | ⊕⊕◯◯ | ||
| Positive MH | Self-compassion | 6 | 349 | 0.58 (0.19 to 0.97) | NA | 56 (0 to 82) | ⊕⊕◯◯ | Wasson, 202039 | |
All the identified reviews were focused on healthcare workers.
k is based on the number of comparisons between interventions and control conditions included in the analyses.
Interventions: This column specifies the major intervention categories (psychosocial, physical activity, lifestyle) as well as the content of the interventions included (eg, CBT-based, mindfulness, etc). When a meta-analysis included various interventions with different contents pooled together, we specified it as ‘various types’. When we specified ‘delivered through e-health’ it meant that all interventions included in a meta-analysis were delivered through e-health technologies.
*Certainty levels: ⊕◯◯◯=very low, ⊕⊕◯◯=low, ⊕⊕⊕◯=moderate, ⊕⊕⊕⊕=high.
abs. red., absolute reduction; Depers., depersonalisation; Exhaust., emotional exhaustion; Funct., functioning; k, number of studies or comparisons included in the analysis; MBI, Maslach Burnout Inventory; MD, mean difference; MH, mental health; n, number of participants in the analysis; NA, not reported in the review or not possible to impute or calculate; ns, not significant; QoL, quality of life; RR, risk ratio; SMD, standarised mean difference.