Effectiveness of Digital Mental Health Interventions in the Workplace: Umbrella Review of Systematic Reviews

Background: There is potential for digital mental health interventions to provide affordable, efficient, and scalable support to individuals. Digital interventions, including cognitive behavioral therapy, stress management, and mindfulness programs, have shown promise when applied in workplace settings. Objective: The aim of this study is to conduct an umbrella review of systematic reviews in order to critically evaluate, synthesize, and summarize evidence of various digital mental health interventions available within a workplace setting. Methods: A systematic search was conducted to identify systematic reviews relating to digital interventions for the workplace, using the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis). The review protocol was registered in the Open Science Framework. The following databases were searched: PubMed, Web of Science, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Cochrane Library. Data were extracted using a predefined extraction table. To assess the methodological quality of a study, the AMSTAR-2 tool was used to critically appraise systematic reviews of health care interventions. Results: The literaturesearch resulted in 11,875 records, which was reduced to 14 full-text systematic literature reviews with the use of Covidence to remove duplicates and screen titles and abstracts. The 14 included reviews were published between 2014 and 2023, comprising 9 systematic reviews and 5 systematic reviews and meta-analyses. AMSTAR-2 was used to complete a quality assessment of the reviews, and the results were critically low for 7 literature reviews and low for the other 7 literature reviews. The most common types of digital intervention studied were cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness/meditation, and stress management followed by other self-help interventions. Effectiveness of digital interventions was found for many mental health symptoms and conditions in employee populations, such as stress, anxiety, depression, burnout, and psychological well-being. Factors such as type of technology, guidance, recruitment, tailoring, and demographics were found to impact effectiveness. Conclusions:This umbrella review aimed to critically evaluate, synthesize, and summarize evidence of various digital mental health interventions available within a workplace setting. Despite the low quality of the reviews, best practice guidelines can be derived from factors that impact the effectiveness of digital interventions in the workplace. Trial Registration: OSF Registriesosf.io/rc6ds; https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/RC6DS