Digital mHealth Interventions for Employees: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of their Effects on Workplace Outcomes.

Objectives To justify the capital investment, employers require proof of benefit of digital mHealth beyond symptomatic improvement. Methods A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to identify studies investigating digital mHealth interventions for employees and their effects on workplace outcomes. Results We identified 28 eligible studies, (8023 employees) comparing digital mHealth interventions to controls. Small significant effects at post-intervention in engagement (g = 0.19), and productivity (g = 0.16) were found. Sustained effects were observed, engagement (g = 0.24) and productivity (g = 0.20). There was a wide range of study heterogeneity (I2 = 16% to 94%). Conclusion In RCTs digital mHealth interventions demonstrate small, potentially sustained efficacy on employee's engagement and productivity. Similar small yet non-significant effect sizes were seen for absenteeism and presenteeism. This supports the need to find ways of enabling employers to deliver these low-cost digital mHealth interventions that can help improve employee's mental health.