Periodic Reporting for period 2 - MENTUPP (Mental Health Promotion and Intervention in Occupational Settings: MENTUPP)
Période du rapport: 2021-07-01 au 2022-12-31
Depression and anxiety are the most prevalent mental health difficulties in the workplace in the EU, causing immense suffering and costing the global economy €1 trillion each year in lost productivity. Certain sectors, in particular construction, health and ICT, have an elevated risk of mental health difficulties, with those working in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) being particularly vulnerable. However, most SMEs have limited capacity to address mental health promotion and provide mental health interventions to staff. As SMEs comprise more than 90% of all EU businesses, there is a huge potential to influence population health. MENTUPP is developing, implementing and evaluating a multilevel evidence based intervention to promote good mental health and prevent mental illness, targeting both clinical and non-clinical problems, as well as tackling stigmatisation, in SMEs across construction, health and ICT sectors. The primary aim of MENTUPP is to improve mental health in the workplace, with a secondary aim to reduce depression and suicidal behaviour.
MENTUPP is being conducted by an interdisciplinary consortium that includes world leading experts in mental health in occupational settings, depression, anxiety, stress, suicide prevention and stigma. The project is implementing and rigorously evaluating the MENTUPP intervention in a pilot study and cluster randomised controlled trial (cRCT) in nine countries across Europe and Australia. Long-lasting sustainability and impact are also a key priority of the project, with activities dedicated to the development of replication materials to support long-term use of the MENTUPP intervention in SMEs across Europe and Australia post project end.
MENTUPP is being conducted by an interdisciplinary consortium that includes world leading experts in mental health in occupational settings, depression, anxiety, stress, suicide prevention and stigma. The project is implementing and rigorously evaluating the MENTUPP intervention in a pilot study and cluster randomised controlled trial (cRCT) in nine countries across Europe and Australia. Long-lasting sustainability and impact are also a key priority of the project, with activities dedicated to the development of replication materials to support long-term use of the MENTUPP intervention in SMEs across Europe and Australia post project end.
MENTUPP has made significant progress towards achieving its objectives in its first 3 years. The first Pilot Phase has been completed, the second (optimised) implementation and evaluation phase is ongoing, and we are preparing for replication post-cRCT. The knowledge gained from detailed systematic reviews, an expert consultation and implementation guidance report informed the design of a comprehensive, multilevel intervention targeting both clinical and non-clinical mental health problems, and mental (ill-) health stigma. Three different components (A/B/C) of the MENTUPP intervention have been developed which are housed in a novel online platform the MENTUPP Hub, which SMEs used to avail of the MENTUPP intervention in the Pilot study and are now using in the ongoing cRCT.
The MENTUPP Pilot study began on 01 May 2021 across 9 intervention countries and was completed on 31 December 2021 with 27 SMEs across the health, construction and ICT sectors participating. Overall, there was positive engagement from SMEs and participants alike in the Pilot study, the detailed evaluation of which informed optimisation of the MENTUPP intervention and MENTUPP Hub pre cRCT. These optimisations helped improve the navigation, personalisation and engagement of the Hub users in addition to improvements in functionalities and design, with the MENTUPP Hub now available in 11 European languages. A detailed process of optimisation of the MENTUPP intervention was also completed which includes psycho-educational material, interactive learning toolkits, peer support videos, breathing and relaxation exercises, psycho-educational information on clinical depressive disorders and comorbid anxiety, and the Anti-Stig Harbour which provides information and practical coping tools in relation to stigma and discrimination.
The MENTUPP cRCT to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the MENTUPP intervention is ongoing in all nine intervention countries. At the end of our second reporting period 64 SMEs were participating in the MENTUPP cRCT with 32 SMEs assigned to the intervention condition and 32 SMEs assigned to the control condition, with 21 SMEs in the construction sector, 26 SMEs in the healthcare sector and 17 SMEs in the ICT sector. A detailed evaluation plan of the cRCT which consists of an outcome, process, and economic evaluation has been designed, which will assess the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of the MENTUPP intervention in the final year of the project. Plans are already underway for replication of the MENTUPP intervention post cRCT. The project has been active in disseminating its work through online dissemination, social media, and interactions with SMEs and relevant stakeholders, as well as through press releases, conferences, meetings and academic papers. The MENTUPP project has published 6 peer reviewed papers, 3 project specific manuscripts are under review in leading journals and the first MENTUPP Policy Brief was published in September 2022 on the occasion of World Suicide Prevention Day.
The MENTUPP Pilot study began on 01 May 2021 across 9 intervention countries and was completed on 31 December 2021 with 27 SMEs across the health, construction and ICT sectors participating. Overall, there was positive engagement from SMEs and participants alike in the Pilot study, the detailed evaluation of which informed optimisation of the MENTUPP intervention and MENTUPP Hub pre cRCT. These optimisations helped improve the navigation, personalisation and engagement of the Hub users in addition to improvements in functionalities and design, with the MENTUPP Hub now available in 11 European languages. A detailed process of optimisation of the MENTUPP intervention was also completed which includes psycho-educational material, interactive learning toolkits, peer support videos, breathing and relaxation exercises, psycho-educational information on clinical depressive disorders and comorbid anxiety, and the Anti-Stig Harbour which provides information and practical coping tools in relation to stigma and discrimination.
The MENTUPP cRCT to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the MENTUPP intervention is ongoing in all nine intervention countries. At the end of our second reporting period 64 SMEs were participating in the MENTUPP cRCT with 32 SMEs assigned to the intervention condition and 32 SMEs assigned to the control condition, with 21 SMEs in the construction sector, 26 SMEs in the healthcare sector and 17 SMEs in the ICT sector. A detailed evaluation plan of the cRCT which consists of an outcome, process, and economic evaluation has been designed, which will assess the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of the MENTUPP intervention in the final year of the project. Plans are already underway for replication of the MENTUPP intervention post cRCT. The project has been active in disseminating its work through online dissemination, social media, and interactions with SMEs and relevant stakeholders, as well as through press releases, conferences, meetings and academic papers. The MENTUPP project has published 6 peer reviewed papers, 3 project specific manuscripts are under review in leading journals and the first MENTUPP Policy Brief was published in September 2022 on the occasion of World Suicide Prevention Day.
MENTUPP is developing and assessing a comprehensive, evidence-based intervention to tackle key mental health issues in the workplace. The multi-component MENTUPP intervention, developed in collaboration with key stakeholders from public health to industry bodies to end-users, will tackle both clinical and non-clinical issues, as well as destigmatisation, covering education, prevention, self-assessment, support provision and support referral.
The intervention targets employees, supervisors and workplace leaders so is truly multilevel, which goes beyond a lot of existing interventions targeting the individual only. The intervention is housed in the MENTUPP Hub, a novel interactive online platform which SME participants will access in the Pilot study and cRCT but which will also be maintained for future replication of the MENTUPP intervention post project end.
The completion and evaluation of the cRCT will be essential to the achievement of the project’s planned impacts. However, in the second reporting period, the project has already made significant progress towards the achievement of its expected impacts with the development of the MENTUPP Intervention, completion of the Pilot study, optimisation of the intervention and initiation of the cRCT.
In MENTUPP, we will measure changes in sickness absence and turnover as well as productivity. These analyses will support continued use and wider replication of the MENTUPP intervention for the promotion of mental health through workplaces. Demonstrating cost effectiveness and economic benefits to companies conducting the interventions, during the project and in the future, is key to their acceptance and wide use in the medium- and long-term. MENTUPP will use the robust evidence base generated from our extensive review of available mental health promotion programmes and evaluation of the MENTUPP intervention to improve policies on mental health in the workplace through a variety of mechanisms. This evidence will be synthesised into policy recommendations which will be widely disseminated to key stakeholders at national, European and international levels. A first version of the ‘implementation practice guidelines for employers/SMEs’ has been drafted in the form of a guide for Champions. These guidelines will be updated regularly and finalized post cRCT for wider replication of the MENTUPP intervention. The MENTUPP project is developing an evidence-based approach that SMEs can trust will work and that provides added value to settings where resources and expertise to deliver workplace mental health interventions are a challenge.
The intervention targets employees, supervisors and workplace leaders so is truly multilevel, which goes beyond a lot of existing interventions targeting the individual only. The intervention is housed in the MENTUPP Hub, a novel interactive online platform which SME participants will access in the Pilot study and cRCT but which will also be maintained for future replication of the MENTUPP intervention post project end.
The completion and evaluation of the cRCT will be essential to the achievement of the project’s planned impacts. However, in the second reporting period, the project has already made significant progress towards the achievement of its expected impacts with the development of the MENTUPP Intervention, completion of the Pilot study, optimisation of the intervention and initiation of the cRCT.
In MENTUPP, we will measure changes in sickness absence and turnover as well as productivity. These analyses will support continued use and wider replication of the MENTUPP intervention for the promotion of mental health through workplaces. Demonstrating cost effectiveness and economic benefits to companies conducting the interventions, during the project and in the future, is key to their acceptance and wide use in the medium- and long-term. MENTUPP will use the robust evidence base generated from our extensive review of available mental health promotion programmes and evaluation of the MENTUPP intervention to improve policies on mental health in the workplace through a variety of mechanisms. This evidence will be synthesised into policy recommendations which will be widely disseminated to key stakeholders at national, European and international levels. A first version of the ‘implementation practice guidelines for employers/SMEs’ has been drafted in the form of a guide for Champions. These guidelines will be updated regularly and finalized post cRCT for wider replication of the MENTUPP intervention. The MENTUPP project is developing an evidence-based approach that SMEs can trust will work and that provides added value to settings where resources and expertise to deliver workplace mental health interventions are a challenge.