Effects of occupational health promotion interventions on health-related outcomes among employees of small businesses and self-employed individuals: A systematic review.
Kristina Willeke, Patrick Janson, Anna Kirchner and 7 others
PMID 38848153WHAT IT FOUND
The evidence was mixed.
Active supervision sometimes reduced distress, but one-time education did not reduce distress, and physical activity findings were inconsistent; no included trial was high quality.
Key findings
01The review found six controlled trials, five of moderate quality and one of low quality.
02Trials with active supervision showed a slight decrease in distress, while a one-time educational intervention showed no effect on distress.
03Physical activity findings were inconsistent: after monthly lifestyle interventions over 18 months, workers of high socioeconomic status showed decreased activity, while workers of low socioeconomic status showed increased activity.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
Only six controlled trials were included, and none were of high methodological quality. The interventions, outcomes and measurement tools were too heterogeneous for a meta-analysis. Most trials did not report whether participants received other interventions or background treatments. Blinding of participants, providers and outcome assessors was not reported in most trials. Adherence to the intervention was not assessed in most trials. Attrition varied from 0 to 51%. Small businesses were defined differently across studies, ranging from one to 300 employees. Different sectors and countries were combined, limiting comparability. Adverse events were not reported in the included trials. The search may have missed publications, and four potentially eligible full texts could not be obtained. No included trial examined pandemic-related workplace changes. Interventions were complex packages, so the contribution of any single component cannot be separated.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that workplace health promotion is proven effective for small businesses. The review included only six trials, none were high quality, and the interventions were complex packages, so single components cannot be separated.