%0 Journal Article
%@ 2368-7959
%I JMIR Publications
%V 4
%N 3
%P e31
%T Development and Evaluation of Digital Game-Based Training for Managers to Promote Employee Mental Health and Reduce Mental Illness Stigma at Work: Quasi-Experimental Study of Program Effectiveness
%A Hanisch,Sabine Elisabeth
%A Birner,Ulrich Walter
%A Oberhauser,Cornelia
%A Nowak,Dennis
%A Sabariego,Carla
%+ Department of Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology, Chair for Public Health and Health Services Research, Research Unit for Biopsychosocial Health, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Ebene K U1, Marchioninistr. 17, Munich, 81377, Germany, 49 17677504067, bine.hanisch@gmail.com
%K stigma
%K mental health
%K workplace
%K prevention
%K health promotion
%K leadership
%K eHealth
%K Internet
%D 2017
%7 04.08.2017
%9 Original Paper
%J JMIR Ment Health
%G English
%X Background: To counteract the negative impact of mental health problems on business, organizations are increasingly investing in mental health intervention measures. However, those services are often underused, which, to a great extent, can be attributed to fear of stigmatization. Nevertheless, so far only a few workplace interventions have specifically targeted stigma, and evidence on their effectiveness is limited. Objective: The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate a digital game-based training program for managers to promote employee mental health and reduce mental illness stigma at work. Methods: We describe the empirical development of Leadership Training in Mental Health Promotion (LMHP), a digital game-based training program for leaders. A 1-group pre-post design and a 3-month follow-up were used for training evaluation. We applied multilevel growth models to investigate change over time in the dependent variables knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy, and intentions to promote employee mental health in 48 managers of a global enterprise in the United Kingdom. Participants were mainly male (44/48, 92%) and ranged in age from 32 to 58 (mean 46.0, SD 7.2) years. Results: We found a positive impact of the Web-based training program on managers’ knowledge of mental health and mental illness (P<.001), on attitudes toward people with mental health problems (P<.01), and on their self-efficacy to deal with mental health situations at work (P<.001), with the exception of intentions to promote employee mental health, which was initially high. Conclusions: Results provide first evidence of the effectiveness of LMHP to positively affect managers’ skills to promote employee mental health at work. Furthermore, the high rate of participation in LMHP (48/54, 89%) supports the use of digital game-based interventions to increase user engagement and user experience in mental health programs at work. 
%M 28778839
%R 10.2196/mental.7600
%U http://mental.jmir.org/2017/3/e31/
%U https://doi.org/10.2196/mental.7600
%U http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28778839