Abstract
Objectives: This retrospective cohort study evaluated the impact of the Stress Check Program, a recently introduced national policy and program aimed at reducing psychological distress among Japanese workers. Methods: A baseline survey was conducted from November 2015 to February 2016, the period when Japan began enforcing the Stress Check Program. A oneyear follow-up survey was conducted in December 2016. In the follow-up survey, two exposure variables were collected: having taken the annual stress survey, and experiencing an improvement in the psychosocial work environment. Psychological distress was assessed using the Brief Job Stress Questionnaire (BJSQ) at baseline and 1-year follow-up. The two exposure variables were used to define four groups: "Neither", "Stress survey (SS) only ", " Psychosocial work environment improvement (WI) only", and "Both". BJSQ results were analyzed using repeated measures general linear modeling (GLM). Results: The study included 2,492 participants: 1,342 in the "Neither" group, 1,009 in the "SS only" group, 76 in the "WI only" group, and 65 in the "Both" group. Overall time-group interaction effects were not significant. The "Both" group showed significantly greater improvements in psychological distress than the "Neither" group (p = 0.02) at the 1-year follow-up, although the effect size was small (d = -0.14). Conclusions: Combination of the annual stress survey and improvement in psychosocial work environment may have been effective in reducing psychological distress in workers, although the effect size was small.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 298-306 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Journal of occupational health |
| Volume | 60 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2018 Jan 1 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Fingerprint
Keywords
- Mental health
- National policy
- Psychosocial work environment improvement
- Stress check
- Workers
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Cite this
Effect of the National Stress Check Program on mental health among workers in Japan : A 1-year retrospective cohort study. / Imamura, Kotaro; Asai, Yumi; Watanabe, Kazuhiro; Tsutsumi, Akizumi; Shimazu, Akihito; Inoue, Akiomi; Hiro, Hisanori; Odagiri, Yuko; Yoshikawa, Toru; Yoshikawa, Etsuko; Kawakami, Norito.
In: Journal of occupational health, Vol. 60, No. 4, 01.01.2018, p. 298-306.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Effect of the National Stress Check Program on mental health among workers in Japan
T2 - A 1-year retrospective cohort study
AU - Imamura, Kotaro
AU - Asai, Yumi
AU - Watanabe, Kazuhiro
AU - Tsutsumi, Akizumi
AU - Shimazu, Akihito
AU - Inoue, Akiomi
AU - Hiro, Hisanori
AU - Odagiri, Yuko
AU - Yoshikawa, Toru
AU - Yoshikawa, Etsuko
AU - Kawakami, Norito
PY - 2018/1/1
Y1 - 2018/1/1
N2 - Objectives: This retrospective cohort study evaluated the impact of the Stress Check Program, a recently introduced national policy and program aimed at reducing psychological distress among Japanese workers. Methods: A baseline survey was conducted from November 2015 to February 2016, the period when Japan began enforcing the Stress Check Program. A oneyear follow-up survey was conducted in December 2016. In the follow-up survey, two exposure variables were collected: having taken the annual stress survey, and experiencing an improvement in the psychosocial work environment. Psychological distress was assessed using the Brief Job Stress Questionnaire (BJSQ) at baseline and 1-year follow-up. The two exposure variables were used to define four groups: "Neither", "Stress survey (SS) only ", " Psychosocial work environment improvement (WI) only", and "Both". BJSQ results were analyzed using repeated measures general linear modeling (GLM). Results: The study included 2,492 participants: 1,342 in the "Neither" group, 1,009 in the "SS only" group, 76 in the "WI only" group, and 65 in the "Both" group. Overall time-group interaction effects were not significant. The "Both" group showed significantly greater improvements in psychological distress than the "Neither" group (p = 0.02) at the 1-year follow-up, although the effect size was small (d = -0.14). Conclusions: Combination of the annual stress survey and improvement in psychosocial work environment may have been effective in reducing psychological distress in workers, although the effect size was small.
AB - Objectives: This retrospective cohort study evaluated the impact of the Stress Check Program, a recently introduced national policy and program aimed at reducing psychological distress among Japanese workers. Methods: A baseline survey was conducted from November 2015 to February 2016, the period when Japan began enforcing the Stress Check Program. A oneyear follow-up survey was conducted in December 2016. In the follow-up survey, two exposure variables were collected: having taken the annual stress survey, and experiencing an improvement in the psychosocial work environment. Psychological distress was assessed using the Brief Job Stress Questionnaire (BJSQ) at baseline and 1-year follow-up. The two exposure variables were used to define four groups: "Neither", "Stress survey (SS) only ", " Psychosocial work environment improvement (WI) only", and "Both". BJSQ results were analyzed using repeated measures general linear modeling (GLM). Results: The study included 2,492 participants: 1,342 in the "Neither" group, 1,009 in the "SS only" group, 76 in the "WI only" group, and 65 in the "Both" group. Overall time-group interaction effects were not significant. The "Both" group showed significantly greater improvements in psychological distress than the "Neither" group (p = 0.02) at the 1-year follow-up, although the effect size was small (d = -0.14). Conclusions: Combination of the annual stress survey and improvement in psychosocial work environment may have been effective in reducing psychological distress in workers, although the effect size was small.
KW - Mental health
KW - National policy
KW - Psychosocial work environment improvement
KW - Stress check
KW - Workers
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85050372184&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85050372184&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1539/joh.2017-0314-OA
DO - 10.1539/joh.2017-0314-OA
M3 - Article
C2 - 29669966
AN - SCOPUS:85050372184
VL - 60
SP - 298
EP - 306
JO - Journal of Occupational Health
JF - Journal of Occupational Health
SN - 1341-9145
IS - 4
ER -