The Effects of E-mental Health Program and Job Coaching on the Risk of Major Depression in Canadian Working Men

Summary

There is a pressing need for innovation in prevention of major depression in male workers. Major depression (MDE) affects workers' health and productivity. In the United States, workers with depression cost an estimated US $44.01 billion per year in lost productivity. One of the severe consequences of having MDE is potential suicide and Canadian national data showed that 76% of all suicides in 2009 were male. In the workplace, risk factors for having MDE differ for men and women. For instance, job strain, family to work conflict and job insecurity seem to be more prominent MDE risk factors in men than in women. Compounding men's risk, men are less likely than women to seek help and to disclose depressive symptoms and often delay help seeking until symptoms become severe. Men are socialized to be emotionally stoic and exemplify traditional masculine characteristics such as independence, self-reliance and dominance. Men are concerned over the perceived negative judgments from family and friends if they access treatment for depression. These gender specific experiences along with a limited knowledge base about effective interventions call for innovative solutions tailored for men. The proposed study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an e-mental health program on reducing the risk of major depression in Canadian working men.

Conditions

• Depression
• Men

Interventions

OTHER

e-mental health program

This program is delivered over the Internet, which includes modules of Information (about depression, workplace factors and alcohol use), Practical Tips (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Mindfulness relaxation, workplace strategies), Tools (for monitoring and predicting depression and occupational functioning), and Goal Setting and Tracking.

OTHER

e-mental health program and job coaching

This combines the e-mental health program and interactive job coaching delivered through telephone. The e-mental health program is delivered over the Internet, which includes modules of Information (about depression, workplace factors and alcohol use), Practical Tips (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Mindfulness relaxation, workplace strategies), Tools (for monitoring and predicting depression and occupational functioning), and Goal Setting and Tracking. The job coaching can be accessed by appointment.

OTHER

No intervention

Receiving generic information about men's depression from the Movember Foundation website: https://ca.movember.com/programs/mental-health

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Movember Foundation

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Calgary

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• JianLi Wang · University of Calgary

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

TRIPLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

MALE

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2016-09-30

Primary Completion

2018-10-31

Completion

2018-12-31

Countries

• Canada

Study Locations