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Fierce debates surround the conceptualization and measurement of job-related distress in occupational health science. The use of burnout as an index of job-related distress, though commonplace, has increasingly been called into question. In this paper, we first highlight foundational problems that undermine the burnout construct and its legacy measure, the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). Next, we report on advances in research on job-related distress that depart from the use of the burnout construct. Tracing the genesis of the burnout construct, we observe that (a) burnout's definition was preestablished rather than derived from a rigorous research process and (b) the MBI has little in the way of a theoretical or empirical foundation. Historical analysis suggests that the burnout construct was cobbled together from unchallenged personal impressions and anecdotal evidence before getting reified by the MBI. This state of affairs may account for many of the disconcerting problems encountered in burnout research. We close our paper by presenting the Occupational Depression Inventory (ODI), a recently developed instrument reflective of a renewed approach to job-related distress. The ODI has demonstrated robust psychometric and structural properties across countries, sexes, age groups, occupations, and languages. The instrument addresses job-related distress both dimensionally and categorically. A dimensional approach can be useful, for instance, in examining the dynamics of etiological processes and symptom development. A categorical approach can serve screening and diagnostic purposes and help clinicians and public health professionals in their decision-making. It is concluded that the ODI offers occupational health specialists a promising way forward., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Bianchi, Wac, Sowden and Schonfeld.)

Background: Diverse wellness-promoting mobile health technologies, including mobile apps and wearable trackers, became increasingly popular due to their ability to support patients' self-management of health conditions. However, the patient's acceptance and use depend on the perceived experience and the app appropriateness to the patient's context and needs. We have some understating of the experience and factors influencing the use of these technologies in the general public, but we have a limited understanding of these issues in patients., Objective: By presenting results from an explorative study, this paper aims to identify implications for the design of mobile apps and wearables to effectively support patients' efforts in self-management of health with a special emphasis on support for self-efficacy of activities contributing to health., Methods: An explorative mixed-method study involving 200 chronically ill patients of Stanford Medical Center (Stanford, CA, United States) was conducted between mid-2016 and end of 2018. Amongst these, 20 patients were involved in a 4-weeks study, in which we collected the underlying wearable device use logs (e.g., Fitbit) and subjective use experience [via an Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA)], as well as patients' momentary perception of general self-efficacy in their natural environments and different daily contexts., Results: The results indicate that mobile apps for health and wearables have the potential to enable better self-management and improve patients' wellbeing but must be further refined to address different human aspects of their use. Specifically, the apps/wearables should be easier to use, more personalized and context-aware for the patient's overall routine and lifestyle choices, as well as with respect to the momentary patient state (e.g., location, type of people around) and health(care) needs. Additionally, apps and devices should be more battery efficient and accurate; providing timely, non-judgmental feedback and personalized advice to the patients anywhere-anytime-anyhow. These results are mapped on major sources of the individuals' self-efficacy., Conclusion: Our results show how the apps/wearables that are aimed at supporting the patients' self-management should be designed to leverage and further improve the patients' general self-efficacy and self-efficacy of activities contributing to chronic disease management., (Copyright © 2019 Wulfovich, Fiordelli, Rivas, Concepcion and Wac.)