Mental Health Applications for Primary and Secondary Prevention of Common Mental Disorders: Attitudes of German Employees

Martina Michaelis; Stephanie Burgess; Florian Junne; Eva Rothermund; Harald Gündel; Stephan Zipfel; Markus Wolf; Monika A Rieger

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2021.508622

Mental Health Applications for Primary and Secondary Prevention of Common Mental Disorders: Attitudes of German Employees

Front Psychiatry. 2021 May 4:12:508622. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.508622. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Martina Michaelis^{1

2}, Stephanie Burgess¹, Florian Junne^{3

4}, Eva Rothermund⁵, Harald Gündel⁵, Stephan Zipfel³, Markus Wolf^{6

7}, Monika A Rieger¹

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Occupational and Social Medicine and Health Services Research, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
² Research Centre for Occupational and Social Medicine (FFAS), Freiburg, Germany.
³ Department of Internal Medicine VI, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
⁴ Department for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany.
⁵ Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Ulm University Medical Center/Leadership Personality Centre, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany.
⁶ Center for Psychotherapy Research, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
⁷ Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.

Abstract

Background: Web-based and mobile mental health applications for the prevention and treatment of common mental disorders (CMDs) are on the rise. Under certain circumstances they have proved to be effective for a range of conditions (e.g., depression). Objective: There is not sufficient evidence regarding the benefits and barriers especially for mobile phone apps and for programs in the field of primary prevention. Studies on the acceptance of potential users of mental health apps yielded mixed outcomes. In a large survey we investigated the attitudes of employees toward mental health apps and various traditional mental health services. Our main research question in this contribution focuses on the acceptance of apps compared to other measures and the moderating influence of individual characteristics. Methods: The standardized survey was completed by members of an online access panel with different job types. A set of 33 self-developed items, including three questions on e-health, captured the perceived relevance of prevention at the (A) occupational, (B) individual, and (C) societal level. On the basis of an exploratory factor analysis, mean scores for mapping seven (sub-)dimensions were constructed and compared using the Wilcoxon test. The influence of potential predictors was analyzed in linear regression models. Results: The data of 610 respondents were analyzed (response rate 75%). Support from mental health applications was rated significantly less important compared to all other dimensions at the levels (A) to (C). Respondents were more likely to use mental health apps if they felt literate with electronic devices, perceived a high relevance of work-related demands as causal factors for CMDs, stated they would be ashamed of having a CMD, and would be willing to begin psychotherapy if recommended. Discussion and Conclusions: The results confirm the critical attitudes of potential mental health app users found in other studies. Since users with a negative attitude toward e-health might have a higher risk for dropout and non-adherence as well as lower intervention effects, well-designed educational strategies should be carried out beforehand.

Keywords: attitudes; common mental disorders; e-mental health; employees; mental health apps; mobile health; survey.