Abstract
The following article has been retracted at the request of the Journal Editor and the Publisher:
Miller E, Thabrew H. Universal school-based e-health interventions for wellbeing, anxiety and depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Digit Health. 2024;10. https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076241302204
The authors contacted Sage to request a correction of their article as they had become aware of a mistake in how the wellbeing data reported had been calculated and displayed. They raised the following concerns:
1) The intervention and control group data were incorrectly interchanged for the studies1,2,3 in Figure 6.
2) The intervention and control group data were incorrectly interchanged for the studies3,4 in Figure 7.
The authors clarified that the errors arose while reversing the axis when displaying wellbeing data.
Following review by the Journal Editor it was found that:
1) The impact of discrepancies in the data due to incorrect values in Figures 6 and 7 on the results or interpretations in the article cannot be conclusively determined. The attempt to replicate the meta-analysis by the Editor’s team were not successful.
2) In Figure 5, the total sample sizes for intervention and control groups reported in the article also appear different from those reported in the original study cited5.
Due to the unresolved concerns that call into question the validity of the findings the Journal Editor and Sage retract this article.
Authors did not respond to the final notice.
1. Edridge C, Wolpert M, Deighton J, et al. An mHealth intervention (ReZone) to help young people self-manage overwhelming feelings: cluster-randomized controlled trial. J Med Internet Res 2020; 22: e14223.
2. Osborn TL, Rodriguez M, Wasil AR, et al. Single-session digital intervention for adolescent depression, anxiety, and well-being: outcomes of a randomized controlled trial with Kenyan adolescents. J Consult Clin Psychol 2020; 88: 657–668.
3. Sun Y, Wang MP, Yin Ho S, et al. A smartphone app for promoting mental well-being and awareness of anxious symptoms in adolescents: a pilot cluster randomized controlled trial. Games Health J 2022; 11: 393–402.
4. Haug S, Paz Castro R, Wenger A, et al. A Mobile phone–based life-skills training program for substance use prevention among adolescents: cluster-randomized controlled trial. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth 2021; 9: e26951.
5. O’Dea B, Subotic-Kerry M, King C, et al. A cluster randomised controlled trial of a web-based youth mental health service in Australian schools. Lancet Regional Health – Western Pacific 2021 Jun 12; 12: 100178.