TY  - JOUR
AU  - Freund, Johanna
AU  - Smit, Filip
AU  - Lehr, Dirk
AU  - Zarski, Anna-Carlotta
AU  - Berking, Matthias
AU  - Riper, Heleen
AU  - Funk, Burkhardt
AU  - Ebert, David Daniel
AU  - Buntrock, Claudia
PY  - 2024
DA  - 2024/10/22
TI  - A Universal Digital Stress Management Intervention for Employees: Randomized Controlled Trial with Health-Economic Evaluation
JO  - J Med Internet Res
SP  - e48481
VL  - 26
KW  - economic evaluation
KW  - cost-effectiveness
KW  - cost-utility
KW  - cost-benefit
KW  - return-on-investment
KW  - employees
KW  - universal prevention
KW  - internet-based
KW  - stress management
AB  - Background: Stress is highly prevalent and known to be a risk factor for a wide range of physical and mental disorders. The effectiveness of digital stress management interventions has been confirmed; however, research on its economic merits is still limited. Objective: This study aims to assess the cost-effectiveness, cost-utility, and cost-benefit of a universal digital stress management intervention for employees compared with a waitlist control condition within a time horizon of 6 months. Methods: Recruitment was directed at the German working population. A sample of 396 employees was randomly assigned to the intervention group (n=198) or the waitlist control condition (WLC) group (n=198). The digital stress management intervention included 7 sessions plus 1 booster session, which was offered without therapeutic guidance. Health service use, patient and family expenditures, and productivity losses were self-assessed and used for costing from a societal and an employer’s perspective. Costs were related to symptom-free status (PSS-10 [Perceived Stress Scale] score 2 SDs below the study population baseline mean) and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) gained. The sampling error was handled using nonparametric bootstrapping. Results: From a societal perspective, the digital intervention was likely to be dominant compared with WLC, with a 56% probability of being cost-effective at a willingness-to-pay (WTP) of €0 per symptom-free person gained. At the same WTP threshold, the digital intervention had a probability of 55% being cost-effective per QALY gained relative to the WLC. This probability increased to 80% at a societal WTP of €20,000 per QALY gained. Taking the employer’s perspective, the digital intervention showed a probability of a positive return on investment of 78%. Conclusions: Digital preventive stress management for employees appears to be cost-effective societally and provides a favorable return on investment for employers. Trial Registration: German Clinical Trials Register DRKS00005699; https://drks.de/search/en/trial/DRKS00005699 
SN  - 1438-8871
UR  - https://www.jmir.org/2024/1/e48481
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2196/48481
DO  - 10.2196/48481
ID  - info:doi/10.2196/48481
ER  -