Effectiveness of a Mobile Application in Improving Employees' Social Well-being.

Not Applicable

Active, not recruiting

• Conditions: Depressive Symptoms; Social Isolation; Social Support; Loneliness
• Interventions: Behavioral: Frendie PRO mobile application

• Registration Number: NCT06495801
• Lead Sponsor: University of Eastern Finland

Brief Summary

The goal of this cluster randomized controlled trial is to learn if using Frendie PRO mobile application at workplaces improves social well-being in employees. The main questions it aims to answer are:

Does using Frendie PRO mobile application at work for 6 months reduce loneliness in employees? Does using Fendie PRO mobile application at work for 6 months reduce social isolation in employees?

Researchers will compare employees from workplaces that use the Frendie PRO mobile application to employees from workplaces that do not use the mobile application to see if there are differences in their levels of social well-being (loneliness, social isolation, perceived social support, depressive symptoms).

Participants will be given access to the Frendie PRO mobile application and encouraged to use it by employers.

Detailed Description

Participants will be recruited from workplaces that use the Frendie PRO mobile application. After collecting baseline data, each workplace will be randomly assigned to treatment or control conditions. The unit of randomization is a workplace (or a team or department in bigger organizations).

The intervention group will be encouraged to download and start using the Frendie PRO mobile application. The control group will be informed of the date when they will have access to it (six months after the baseline).

Both groups are asked to participate in two follow-ups - a 3-month follow-up and a 6-month follow-up.

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2024-07-02
• Study First Submitted QC: 2024-07-10
• Study First Posted: 2024-07-11
• Study Start: 2024-09-20
• Status Verified: 2025-04
• Last Update Submitted: 2025-04-29
• Last Update Posted: 2025-05-02
• Primary Completion: 2025-05-20
• Study Completion: 2025-08-01

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 1012

Inclusion Criteria

• All employees working at the company/team/department participating in the study and starting to use the Frendie PRO mobile application within the study period.
• Ability to fill the questionnaires online in Finnish

Exclusion Criteria

• incapable of using questionnaire online
• does not know Finnish well enough to answer the questions

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Intervention	Frendie PRO mobile application	-

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Social Isolation	Will be measured three times: baseline, 3-month follow-up and 6-month follow-up	The Social Isolation scale was modified from an index used by Christiansen et al. (2021). Christiansen and colleagues, in turn, created it inspired by the detailed Social Network Index created by Berkman and Syme (1979).; Communication frequency with the following groups is measured: * family members who live elsewhere; * friends; * colleagues or fellow students at the workplace/school and outside of the workplace/school; * neighbors and local community; * people from social clubs, hobby groups, and religious organisations at and outside the meetings.
Loneliness	Will be measured three times: baseline, 3-month follow-up and 6-month follow-up	University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Loneliness Scale

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Depressive symptoms	Will be measured three times: baseline, 3-month follow-up and 6-month follow-up	Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ9)
Workplace loneliness	Will be measured three times: baseline, 3-month follow-up and 6-month follow-up	Specific scale regarding loneliness experienced at workplaces. Includes 5 items that are modified from the UCLA loneliness scale. It was validated in Finnish adult population. Please see Kemppinen and Tanskanen (2023) for full description: Kemppinen, S., Tanskanen, J., 2023. Suomenkielisen työyksinäisyysmittarin validointi etä- ja hybridityöläisillä (Eng title: Validation of Finnish loneliness at work scale with remote and hybrid worker sample). Psykologia 58, 198-219.
Social support	Will be measured three times: baseline, 3-month follow-up and 6-month follow-up	Oslo Social Support Scale

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

University of Eastern Finland; 🇫🇮 Kuopio, North Savonia, Finland