Abstract
Background:
Work-related mental health problems impose significant economic and personal burdens. eHealth interventions may offer low-cost, practical solutions, but guidance on their cost-effectiveness in workplace mental health is limited.
Objective:
The objective of this study was to systematically review economic evaluations of workplace eHealth interventions for mental health, offering insights into methodologies and cost-effectiveness outcomes.
Methods:
Adhering to PRISMA guidelines, searches were conducted in Embase, MEDLINE, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Cochrane library, PsycInfo and EconLit databases in May 2022, selecting peer-reviewed papers that performed economic evaluations on workplace eHealth interventions for adult mental health. Quality was assessed using the Drummond checklist.
Results:
From 3213 references, eight met the inclusion criteria. These studies varied in economic perspective, types of economic analysis type, primary outcome measures, intervention focus (e.g. stress, alcohol, insomnia & return-to-work) and direct non-medical costs. Five eHealth interventions were found to be cost-effective and/or have a positive return on investment, with seven studies rated as high quality according to the Drummond checklist.
Conclusions:
The study outcomes unveiled the potential cost-effectiveness of eHealth interventions targeting mental health issues, particularly these focusing on workplace stress. However, generalization is challenging due to variations in the methodologies across studies.
Work-related mental health problems impose significant economic and personal burdens. eHealth interventions may offer low-cost, practical solutions, but guidance on their cost-effectiveness in workplace mental health is limited.
Objective:
The objective of this study was to systematically review economic evaluations of workplace eHealth interventions for mental health, offering insights into methodologies and cost-effectiveness outcomes.
Methods:
Adhering to PRISMA guidelines, searches were conducted in Embase, MEDLINE, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Cochrane library, PsycInfo and EconLit databases in May 2022, selecting peer-reviewed papers that performed economic evaluations on workplace eHealth interventions for adult mental health. Quality was assessed using the Drummond checklist.
Results:
From 3213 references, eight met the inclusion criteria. These studies varied in economic perspective, types of economic analysis type, primary outcome measures, intervention focus (e.g. stress, alcohol, insomnia & return-to-work) and direct non-medical costs. Five eHealth interventions were found to be cost-effective and/or have a positive return on investment, with seven studies rated as high quality according to the Drummond checklist.
Conclusions:
The study outcomes unveiled the potential cost-effectiveness of eHealth interventions targeting mental health issues, particularly these focusing on workplace stress. However, generalization is challenging due to variations in the methodologies across studies.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Journal of Mental Health |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 20 Aug 2024 |
Bibliographical note
The research leading to this results has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program under Grant Agreement No. 848180 and the National Health andMedical Research Council of Australia (APP1195937). B.O. is supported by the Miguel Servet (CP20/00040) contract, funded by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III and co-funded by the European Union (ERDF/ESF, “Investing in your future”)
