Program Reviews

GET.ON Stress

Program Overview

GET.ON Mood Enhancer Stress (GET.ON Stress) is a multimedia, seven-session, web-based program for work-related stress with mobile support from an eCoach. Sessions are 45 to 60 minutes long and focus on psychoeducation, problem solving, emotion regulation, and planning for the future. Users can fill out a stress diary and some modules include homework. Users can optionally receive motivational messages relating to program material from an eCoach. eCoaches will also send reminders to users to improve adherence.

Delivery:
Web-based
Text messaging
Clinician-assisted

Theoretical Approach(es):
Emotion regulation
Problem solving therapy

Target Outcome(s):
Stress

Ages:
Young Adults (18-30)
Adults (30+)

Genders:
Male
Female

Races/Ethnicities:
Unspecified

Setting(s):
Remote Access

Geographic Location(s):
Unspecified

Country:
Germany

Language:
German

Evaluations

  • Ebert DD, Heber E, Berking M, et al. Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 2016. 73: 315-323. doi: 10.1136/oemed-2015-103269

    Summary: Researchers recruited 264 people who were employed and reported elevated levels of stress through a major German health insurance company and advertisements. Participants were randomized to receive GET.ON Stress or to a waitlist control group that could receive GET.ON Stress six months after enrollment. Participants had the option to receive light (1 text message every other day) or intensive (2-3 text messages a day) coaching messages. Participants completed assessments of perceived stress, mental health, work-related health, and emotion regulation skills at baseline, post-intervention (seven weeks), and six months follow-up. Participants in the intervention group reported lower levels of stress at post-intervention and six months follow-up with large and moderate to large effect sizes respectively. More participants in the intervention group responded to treatment than in the control group at post treatment and six-months follow-up. Close to symptom free status was observed in more participants in the intervention group than in the control group at post-treatment and six-months follow-up. The intervention group reported better scores on mental health, work-related health, and emotion regulation than the control group. Participants who received the intensive coaching had significantly lower stress at seven weeks and six months follow-up. Additionally, participants in the intervention group reported being satisfied with the intervention.

    Take Away: GET.ON Stress may reduce stress in employees reporting elevated stress.

  • Heber E, Lehr D, Ebert DD, Berking M, Riper H. Journal of Medical Internet Research. 2016. 18(1): e21. doi: 10.2196/jmir.5112

    Summary: Researchers recruited 264 employed people with elevated levels of stress through advertisements and referrals from a major German health insurance company. Participants were randomized to receive GET.ON Stress or to a waitlist control group that could receive GET.ON Stress after six-months. Both groups completed assessments at baseline, seven weeks (post-intervention), and six months. Participants in the intervention group also completed assessments at 12 months. The primary outcome was perceived stress and secondary outcomes included mental health (e.g. depression, anxiety, worrying, quality of life), work-related health (e.g. engagement, psychological detachment), emotion regulation, and satisfaction. More than three quarters of participants (76.5%) chose to receive text message coaching. Participants in the intervention group reported lower levels of perceived stress than the control group at post-treatment and six-month follow-up. More participants in the intervention group experienced reliable improvement in perceived stress and met criteria for symptom free status than the control group at post-treatment and six-month follow-up. Participants in the intervention group also reported better scores on secondary outcomes than the control group. Participants in the intervention group experienced significant improvements in perceived stress from baseline to 12-month follow up. Improvements that participants in the intervention group experienced at six-months were maintained at 12-months. Additionally, participants in the intervention group reported being satisfied with GET.ON Stress. There were no differences in outcomes for participants in the intervention group that received text message coaching compared to those who did not.

    Take Away: GET.ON Stress may help improve perceived stress and other mental health and work-related health outcomes.

  • Efficacy and cost-effectiveness of a web-based and mobile stress-management intervention for employees: Design of a randomized controlled trial. Heber E, Ebert DD, Lehr D, Nobis S, Berking M, Riper H. BMC Public Health. 2013. 13(655). doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-13-655

    Efficacy and cost-effectiveness of minimal guided and unguided internet-based mobile supported stress-management in employees with occupational stress: A three-armed randomised controlled trial.     Ebert DD, Lehr D, Smit F, et al. BMC Public Health. 2014. 14(807). doi: 1186/1471-2458-14-807

    Adherence to internet-based mobile-supported stress management: A pooled analysis of individual participant data from three randomized controlled trials. Zarski A-C, Lehr D, Berking M, Riper H, Cuijpers P, Ebert DD. Journal of Medical Internet Research. 2016. 18(6): e146. doi: 10.2196/jmir.4493