Learning that mental health gets better did not clearly raise app use

The study

1. 01

   Who took part

   252 workers from 83 firms that offered a mental health app. They were about 32 on average, mostly Asian, and most had mild symptoms. 272 were put in groups, and 20 were dropped for fake, repeat or rushed answers.

2. 02

   What they did

   Each group had one online session of about 10 minutes. One group read stories of workers who saw their mental health as something that can get better. Then they wrote short essays about how to make it better. The other group read and wrote in the same way about using digital tools at work. The app tracked use for three months.

3. 03

   What happened

   In three months, about 38 in 100 of the mental health group used the app's self-help tools again. In the other group it was 29 in 100, which was not a clear difference. The mental health group used the app more only among people who were struggling more at the start. The paper's summary claims more than its results show, and some of its numbers don't add up.

What the study found

1. No difference

   Reading and writing about how mental health gets better did not clearly raise use of self-help tools in the app.

   • Action: Read about someone facing the same problemtested
   • Action: Learn how the problem workstested

   Randomised trial of 252 employees offered a mental health app · vs the same reading and writing about work tools · behaviour was recorded · ⚠ summary claims more than the results show; numbers unreliable

Source