Early Identification and Prevention of Major Depression in Male Workers
Overview
The goal of this Movember funded research program led by Dr. JianLi Wang of the University of Calgary is to develop effective and sustainable strategies for reducing the risk of major depression in male workers, with a focus on 1) male workers’ needs, 2) technology-based innovations, and 3) evidence informed solutions to workplace challenges faced by male workers.
Dr. Kendall Ho and the UBC Digital Emergency Medicine team, along with other partners provide eHealth subject matter expertise, technology insight and support to the program.
Approach
Three interrelated research projects are to be undertaken over a 3 year period:
Project A: Understanding male workers’ attitudes towards and preferences for e-mental health interventions. This project is a cross-sectional survey in male workers who are at risk for having major depression to understand their needs for reducing stress and their knowledge about and preference of e-mental health services and delivery format.
(Completed 2015-2016)
Project B: Evaluating the effectiveness of e-mental health interventions. Informed by Project A, this initiative is a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the impact of e-mental health intervention on high-risk male workers’ predicted risk, depression status and work functioning. A qualitative interview component is embedded to capture in-depth information about the effect of e-mental health intervention. An economic evaluation is incorporated to assess potential return-on-investment so as to build a business case for prevention of major depression.
Project C: Developing on-line and mobile educational resources for male workers. This project consist of 1) qualitative interviews with a sub sample of participants from Project B and an additional purposive sample of workers from male dominated sectors, 2) Delphi panel surveys to develop evidence-informed, open access educational materials for male workers and 3) translating the educational materials into web and mobile resources.
UBC Contact for more information: Tracy Thain, Programmer & Technology Coordinator, tracy.t@ubc.ca