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Norwegian researchers found that increasing physical activity in adolescence reduces future depression risk, especially from ages 14 to 18. Within-person analysis showed that higher activity protected...

Background: Encouraging #PhysicalActivity improves mental #Health and is recommended in workplace mental #Health guidelines. Although #mHealth interventions are promising for #PhysicalActivity promotion, their impact on mental #Health outcomes is inconsistent. Furthermore, poor user retention rates of #mHealth apps pose a major challenge. Objective: This study aimed to examine the effectiveness and implementation outcomes of the smartphone #App ASHARE in Japanese workplace settings, leveraging a deep learning model to monitor depression and anxiety through #PhysicalActivity. Methods: This hybrid effectiveness-implementation trial was a 3-month non-randomized controlled study conducted from October 2023 to September 2024. Work units and employees were recruited and allocated to the intervention or active control group based on preference. The intervention group installed the ASHARE #App, whereas the control group participated in an existing multi-component workplace program promoting #PhysicalActivity. Changes in #PhysicalActivity and psychological distress levels were compared between the groups. User retention rates, participation rates, acceptability, appropriateness, feasibility, satisfaction, and potential harm were also assessed. Results: Eighty-four employees from seven work units participated (67 from five units in the intervention group and 17 from two units in the control group). Seventy-eight employees completed the 3-month follow-up survey (follow-up rate: 92.9%). Both groups showed increased #PhysicalActivity, and the intervention group showed reduced psychological distress; however, the differences between groups were not statistically significant (P = .20; P = .36). In a sensitivity analysis of protocol-compliant employees (n = 21), psychological distress levels were significantly reduced in the intervention group compared to the control group (Coeff = -3.68, SE = 1.65, P = .03). The #App’s 3-month user retention rate was 19.7% (12/61), which was lower than the participation rate in each component of the control programs. Implementation outcomes evaluated by employees were less favorable in the intervention group than in the control group, whereas #Health promotion managers found them to be similar. Conclusions: The ASHARE #App did not show superior effectiveness compared with an existing multi-component workplace program for promoting #PhysicalActivity. An implementation gap may exist between #Health promotion managers and employees, possibly contributing to the #App’s low user retention rate. Future research should focus on examining the effectiveness of strategies to get engagement from managers and from segments of employees with favorable responses in the workplace at an early stage. Clinical Trial: UMIN-CTR UMIN000052374; https://center6.umin.ac.jp/cgi-open-bin/ctr/ctr_view.cgi?recptno=R000059791