Plain English Summary
Background and study aims
Digital services have been found promising in managing different aspects of health, also stress. We developed a web service for cultivating the positive side of stress based on the stress experiences of entrepreneurs. Our research objectives are to study the acceptance and usage of the Eustress Toolbox web service, and based on the findings, provide design implications to support the design of digital well-being services, especially in the entrepreneurial context.
Who can participate?
Our study is intended for entrepreneurs and people having an entrepreneur-type job description.
What does the study involve?
The study involves participating in a kick-off session, using the web service “Eustress Toolbox” for 6 weeks as a part of one’s daily life, responding to study questionnaires on work engagement, stress and user experience of the service. In addition, half of the participants are interviewed after the 6-week period of service use.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
The participants may learn new skills related to occupational well-being. The participants are reimbursed with movie tickets; the participants attending to a final interview received four movie tickets each and other participants two movie tickets. Participation does not involve risks for the participants.
Where is the study run from?
The study is conducted in Finland by the researchers of VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd and Tampere University.
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
June 2015 to December 2015.
Who is funding the study?
The study is funded by Tekes - the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd and Tampere University.
Who is the main contact?
The main contact is Päivi Heikkilä (paivi.heikkila@vtt.fi) from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd.
Trial website
Contact information
Type
Scientific
Primary contact
Ms Päivi Heikkilä
ORCID ID
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8999-179X
Contact details
P. O. Box 1300
Tampere
FI-33101
Finland
+358503655111
paivi.heikkila@vtt.fi
Additional identifiers
EudraCT number
Nil known
ClinicalTrials.gov number
Nil known
Protocol/serial number
N/A
Study information
Scientific title
Field Study of a Web Service for Stimulating the Positive Side of Stress: Entrepreneurs’ Experiences and Design Implications
Acronym
N/A
Study hypothesis
The study evaluated user acceptance and experience of a web service for promoting skills for experiencing positive stress.
Ethics approval
This study did not require ethics approval according to the guidelines of the Ethics Committee of the Tampere region. The study was conducted with adult volunteers who gave informed consent, the study did not involve intervention with physical integrity of participants, or did not expose them to risks regarding to their mental health and safety. More information: https://www.tuni.fi/en/research/responsible-research/ethical-reviews-in-human-sciences
Study design
A single-arm 6-week field study
Primary study design
Other
Secondary study design
Trial setting
Internet
Trial type
Quality of life
Patient information sheet
Not available in web format, please use contact details to request a participant information sheet.
Condition
Occupational well-being and eustress skills of entrepreneurs and entrepreneur-type employees..
Intervention
The selection of participants is made based on a recruitment questionnaire to include entrepreneurs or people having an entrepreneur-like job description. The selected participants first respond to an online questionnaire on stress and work engagement. All participants are invited to a kick-off session, which introduces the phenomenon of positive stress, the study procedures and the web service to be tested. After that, they start using the web service independently, as a part of their daily life, during a six-week period. After about two weeks of use, they receive an online user experience questionnaire of their first impressions of the service, and at the end of the period, a final user experience questionnaire and the same stress and work engagement questionnaires as at baseline. Finally, about half of the participants are interviewed to deepen the data obtained with questionnaires.
Intervention type
Behavioural
Phase
Drug names
Primary outcome measure
User acceptance and experience, development needs and design implications are measured with two questionnaires at 2 weeks and 6 weeks, and a final interview at 6 weeks.
Secondary outcome measures
1. Usage activity of the web service is determined using log files after the 6-week usage period.
2. Perceived stress is measured using the Perceived Stress Scale at baseline and after the 6-week usage period.
3. Work engagement is measured using the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale at baseline and after the 6-week usage period.
4. Perceived benefits of the service are measured with two single-item scales on positive and negative stress after 6-week usage period as a part of the final user experience questionnaire.
Overall trial start date
01/06/2015
Overall trial end date
31/12/2015
Reason abandoned (if study stopped)
Eligibility
Participant inclusion criteria
Entrepreneur or employee with an entrepreneur-type job description.
Participant type
Healthy volunteer
Age group
Adult
Gender
Both
Target number of participants
20-30
Total final enrolment
22
Participant exclusion criteria
N/A
Recruitment start date
15/09/2015
Recruitment end date
21/10/2015
Locations
Countries of recruitment
Finland
Trial participating centre
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd.
P. O. Box 1300
Tampere
FI-33101
Finland
Trial participating centre
Tampere University
Tampere
FI-33014
Finland
Sponsor information
Organisation
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd
Sponsor details
P.O. Box 1000
Espoo
FI-02044
Finland
+ 358 20 722 7001
kirjaamo@vtt.fi
Sponsor type
Research organisation
Website
Funders
Funder type
Government
Funder name
Tekes
Alternative name(s)
Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation
Funding Body Type
unknown
Funding Body Subtype
Location
Funder name
Teknologian Tutkimuskeskus VTT
Alternative name(s)
Funding Body Type
Funding Body Subtype
Location
Funder name
Tampereen Yliopisto
Alternative name(s)
University of Tampere, UTA
Funding Body Type
unknown
Funding Body Subtype
Location
Results and Publications
Publication and dissemination plan
We plan to publish the field study results in 2019.
IPD sharing statement: We can provide anonymous data for specified research questions. The data includes usage log data, as well as data from stress and work engagement questionnaires and user experience questionnaires without open-ended questions and demographic information, which may reveal the identity of the participants. The data is in Finnish and can be requested from Päivi Heikkilä, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd.
Intention to publish date
31/12/2019
Participant level data
Available on request
Basic results (scientific)
Publication list
2019 results in https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31660962 (added 11/05/2020)