Table 1.

Guidelines for the organization for a safe usage of eHealth tools in workplace health promotion (WHP). Note: It is suggested to discuss all actions in the step “Concept/Adaptation” and find solutions before the WHP process starts.

Step, discussions and actions		Scientific base	Examples or explanation
Concept/adaptation
	Privacy regulations of the employees’ health data	[71]	Privacy regulations of the employees’ health data have been discussed and suggestions have been included in the implementation concept. eHealth tools should be created in a way that prevent the steering group from seeing individual data
	Data security of the eHealth tool	[53,70]	Discussions with technical experts about protection against unauthorized access or data transmission protection
	Inclusion of all relevant persons in the WHPa process	[38]	Next to the “traditional steering group,” technical experts or eHealth developers are included in the process as well
	Access to the WHP activities independent of Web and/or app access	[69]	Employees who do not have mobile phones should have access to the information (eg, via general accessible computers or by proving them with devices)
	Goals, added value, and benefits of the eHealth tool	[37]	Discuss in which steps of the process eHealth tools can give optimal support and where the traditional approach (without eHealth tools) is better suited
	Nondirective approach for using eHealth tools	[40]	Letting the employees themselves decide if and how to use the eHealth tools to avoid possible resistance
	Benefits, incentives	[72,73]	Incentives can help to enhance the signing up of the participants and help to keep the dropout rate at a low level
	Regulations about the usage of eHealth tools at the workplace	[37,69]	Provide opportunities to use the eHealth tools at work (eg, access to computers, mobile phones, and/or activity tracker), provide training and technical support
	Quality of the eHealth tools	[13,74]	eHealth tools that are used and integrated are chosen with regard to quality criteria in this area (eg, Mobile App Rating Scale, MARS [12] or enlight quality assessment and checklist [74])
Information
	Information about privacy regulations and anonymity	[75]	Address all doubts, fears, and comments about privacy regulations and anonymity in the information process. Provide platforms where employees could voice their concerns and answer them adequately
	Usage for eHealth tools is on an opt-in base	[21]	The usage of any eHealth tools is free, employees can opt-in and are not obliged to use any tool
	Procedures to integrate the existing eHealth tools	[76]	Find solutions how to integrate the eHealth tools that are already used by the employees
	Definition of responsibilities in the process	[77]	A responsible person or a group is defined and introduced which serves as an expert(s) for the eHealth tool, and administers the process and is the “driver” for the process
Assessment/analysis
	Execution and presentation of the assessment	[44]	It is suggested to use computers for more comprehensive assessments. If presenting on mobile devices, the questionnaires have to be adapted to fit the mobile phone screens
	Combination with other data sources	[76]	Combine questionnaire data with behavioral or psychophysiological data (eg, with the help of activity tracker) or with corporate key figures from the company
	Data storage	[78]	Discuss the storage of data (eg, data have to be stored separately from e-mail addresses or other data that could be used to identify individuals)
Dashboard feedback
	Content of the information provided on the dashboard	[31]	Discuss possibilities to personalize the dashboard content to the company’s needs
	Detail of the information provided on the dashboard	[31]	Specify a minimum number of entries for presenting results and subgroup analyses (eg, a minimum of 5 persons for a subgroup analysis) to avoid inference to a single person
	Regulations on how to share feedback information	[53,70]	Specify guidelines on how to share information on social platforms or other forums/platforms
	Inclusion of all relevant health experts	[57]	Health experts (eg, physicians, psychologists, sports experts, nutritionists) have been included in the interpretation of the results to avoid misinterpretations, and in the development of interventions
Health circles/participatory planning
	Participation of employees in the selection of activities	[30]	All employees have been given the possibility to participate in the decision-making process to raise the employees’ acceptance toward the developed interventions and increase participation rates of employees
	Support of planning and organizing health circles	[79]	It includes “audience response systems” for discussions that allow employees to stay anonymous and see dashboard results immediately for a more fruitful discussion
Interventions (individual/organization)
	Procedures for giving automated, individual feedback	[57]	The way of giving ethical, correct individual feedback to the employees is discussed and defined with health experts
	Procedures in case of critical results	[59]	A support line has been established in case employees need professional support after receiving a critical feedback
	Inclusion of organization-focused interventions	[21,26,61]	eHealth tools can support by providing management dashboards where the process and responsibilities are managed
Evaluation
	Evaluation of the eHealth tool	[49,68]	A continuous improvement process is started where the evaluation results regarding the acceptance and usability of eHealth tool are addressed
	Evaluation of efficiency	[80]	Clear rationales and algorithms are found to monitor goals and effects with the support of eHealth tools