Increasing Engagement With and Effectiveness of an Online CBT Based Stress Management Intervention for Employees Through the Use of an Online Facilitated Bulletin Board: Design of a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

The aim of the pilot study is to identify and address some of the challenges of delivering online psychological interventions in the workplace. There is clear research evidence for the delivery of online psychological interventions within clinical settings (e.g. Andersson & Cuijpers, 2009), but this evidence does not translate to online interventions delivered in work settings (e.g. Geraedts, Kleiboer, Twisk, Wiezer, van Mechelen, & Cuijpers, 2014). Evidence suggests that one of the barriers to the efficacy of online interventions may be the low level of engagement and adherence (Cavanagh & Millings, 2013). This study aims to address this by asking the question: "How can we increase engagement with and adherence to an online intervention delivered in the workplace?"

The pilot study is a three-arm RCT comparing a minimal guided online Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) based stress management intervention (WorkGuru) delivered with and without an online facilitated bulletin board, to a waiting list control. Both active conditions will have access to an online programme with minimal support from a coach. The discussion group condition will also have access to a facilitated online bulletin board. Up to 90 employees from UK based organisations will be recruited to the study.

Inclusion criteria will include age 18 or over, elevated levels of stress (defined as 1SD above the mean norm on the PSS-10 scale), access to a computer or tablet, and the Internet. The primary outcome measure will be engagement, as defined by the number of logins to the site; secondary outcome measures will include further measures of engagement (the number of pages visited, the number of modules completed and self-report engagement) and measures of effectiveness (psychological distress and subjective wellbeing). Possible moderators will include measures of intervention quality (satisfaction, acceptability, credibility, system usability), time pressure, goal conflict, level of distress at baseline, and job autonomy. Measures will be taken at baseline, 2 weeks (credibility and expectancy measures only), 9 weeks (completion of intervention) and 16 weeks (follow-up). Analyses will be conducted on intention to treat and per protocol principles. Data will be collected electronically using Qualtrics survey software.