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Objective: To evaluate an online training program for physician supervisors with the aim of promoting a mentally healthy workplace by improving their use of both responsive and preventive mental health support strategies. Study design: Cluster randomised, waitlist‐controlled trial. Setting, participants: Royal Australasian College of Physicians fellows who were supervising at least one resident physician in any of the 31 primary health networks in Australia and 20 district health boards in New Zealand (health network clusters). Intervention: A brief online skills‐based mental health training program, comprising twelve modules grouped into three topics: common mental illnesses; helping trainees you are concerned about (responsive strategies); and minimising mental health risks at work (preventive strategies). Main outcome measures: Change between baseline and the 3‐month assessment in self‐reported recommended supervisor behaviours; differences between intervention and control groups in recommended behaviour scores three weeks, three months, and six months after the program. Results: Ninety physicians from 20 health network clusters were allocated to the intervention group, 88 physicians from 22 clusters to the control group. Intervention group participants reported greater positive change in behaviour across the study period than those in the control group (mixed model repeated measures analysis, group × time interaction: P < 0.001). The mean change in self‐reported supervisory behaviour score was higher for the intervention than the control group at the 3‐week (mean difference in score, 1.6; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.8–2.4), 3‐month (0.9; 95% CI, 0.2–1.6), and 6‐month assessments (1.9; 95% CI, 1.1–2.7). The mean change in self‐reported responsive behaviour score was also greater for the intervention group at the 3‐week (mean difference, 2.3; 95% CI, 1.5–3.1), 3‐month (1.0; 95% CI, 0.2–1.9), and 6‐month assessments (2.0; 95% CI, 1.1–2.9); differences in the mean change in preventive behaviour scores were statistically significant at the 3‐week (mean difference, 1.1; 95% CI, 0.1–2.2) and 6‐month assessments (1.8; 95% CI, 0.8–2.8), but not the 3‐month assessment (0.8; 95% CI, –0.1 to 1.7). Conclusions: Brief online mental health training for senior physicians can lead to changes in their self‐reported behaviour for supporting the mental health needs of resident physicians. Whether this leads to better mental health for resident physicians should be investigated. Trial registration: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12619001496101 (prospective). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of the study was to explore perceptions of mental ill health, suicidal behaviour and working conditions among male construction workers, in order to gain an in-depth understanding of these phenomenon and to identify relevant avenues for workplace interventions. Method: Data were collected in individual and group interviews, and 43 individuals from the Swedish construction industry, workers, union representative and managers, participated in the study. Inductive thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Results: Five main themes were found: Difficult to talk about mental health, Demanding working environment affects mental health, Substance abuse among construction workers, Importance of management, and Need for routines and social support in the workplace. Many participants reported that there was a stigma related to mental health. Suicides that had occurred among colleagues were perceived to come out of the blue. The working environment in the construction industry was perceived to have a negative effect on mental health, and it was reported that the management played an important role in both the cause and prevention of mental health problems. Conclusions: The results from this Swedish study are in accordance with previous international research regarding a macho culture, stigma of mental health and a demanding working environment in the construction industry. The study adds to existing knowledge by highlighting that suicides were perceived to be very unexpected, that poor physical health affected mental health and that many participants did not know how to deal with mental health issues in the workplace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Job stressors can be particularly harmful to the mental health of disadvantaged groups through differential exposure, differential sensitivity to the effects of exposure, or both. In this paper, we assess the extent to which emergent adult workers with an adolescent history of high depression symptoms may be differentially sensitive to the effect of job stressors on mental health. Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis of three waves of the Australian arm of the International Youth Development Study (n = 1262). We used multivariable linear regression to assess whether self‐reported measures of high depression symptoms at one or two time points in adolescence (ages 11–16 years) modified the cross‐sectional association between four self‐reported job stressors (job demands, job control, job strain, and incivility at work) and psychological distress (Kessler‐10 scores) in emergent adulthood (ages 23–27 years). Results: For all four job stressors, there was a consistent pattern of approximately a doubling in the magnitude of association for participants with a history of high depression symptoms at two points in adolescence compared with those with no history of depression. However, results of effect modification analysisfor only job demands and job strain excluded chance as a potential explanation. Conclusions: Findings showed partial support for the hypothesis that a history of high depression symptoms in adolescence predicts stronger associations between job stressor exposures and psychological distress among those employed in emergent adulthood. The limitations of this secondary analysis suggest a need for purpose‐designed studies to answer this important research question more definitively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundThe web-based BeUpstanding Champion Toolkit was developed to support work teams in addressing the emergent work health and safety issue of excessive sitting. It provides a step-by-step guide and associated resources that equip a workplace representative—the champion—to adopt and deliver the 8-week intervention program (BeUpstanding) to their work team. The evidence-informed program is designed to raise awareness of the benefits of sitting less and moving more, build a supportive culture for change, and encourage staff to take action to achieve this change. Work teams collectively choose the strategies they want to implement and promote to stand up, sit less, and move more, with this bespoke and participative approach ensuring the strategies are aligned with the team’s needs and existing culture. BeUpstanding has been iteratively developed and optimized through a multiphase process to ensure that it is fit for purpose for wide-scale implementation. ObjectiveThe study aimed to describe the current version of BeUpstanding, and the methods and protocol for a national implementation trial. MethodsThe trial will be conducted in collaboration with five Australian workplace health and safety policy and practice partners. Desk-based work teams from a variety of industries will be recruited from across Australia via partner-led referral pathways. Recruitment will target sectors (small business, rural or regional, call center, blue collar, and government) that are of priority to the policy and practice partners. A minimum of 50 work teams will be recruited per priority sector with a minimum of 10,000 employees exposed to the program. A single-arm, repeated-measures design will assess the short-term (end of program) and long-term (9 months postprogram) impacts. Data will be collected on the web via surveys and toolkit analytics and by the research team via telephone calls with champions. The Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance Framework will guide the evaluation, with assessment of the adoption/reach of the program (the number and characteristics of work teams and participating staff), program implementation (completion by the champion of core program components), effectiveness (on workplace sitting, standing, and moving), and maintenance (sustainability of changes). There will be an economic evaluation of the costs and outcomes of scaling up to national implementation, including intervention affordability and sustainability. ResultsThe study received funding in June 2018 and the original protocol was approved by institutional review board on January 9, 2017, with national implementation trial consent and protocol amendment approved March 12, 2019. The trial started on June 12, 2019, with 48 teams recruited as of December 2019. ConclusionsThe implementation and multimethod evaluation of BeUpstanding will provide the practice-based evidence needed for informing the potential broader dissemination of the program. Trial RegistrationAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12617000682347; https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=372843&isReview=true. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/15756