Ho Ming Lau|Johannes H. Smit|Theresa Fleming|Heleen Riper
Serious Games for Mental Health: Are They Accessible, Feasible, and Effective? A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
GGZ inGeest|EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research|GGZ inGeest|EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research|University of Auckland|GGZ inGeest|EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research
development use serious games mental health disorders rise yet little known impact games clinical mental health symptoms conducted systematic review metaanalysis randomized controlled trials evaluated effectiveness serious games symptoms mental disorder method conducted systematic search pubmed psycinfo embase databases using mental health serious games related keywords ten studies met inclusion criteria included review nine included metaanalysis results serious games provided via personal computer mostly cdrom without need internet connection studies targeted age groups ranging 7 80 years old serious games focussed symptoms depression n 2 posttraumatic stress disorder n 2 autism spectrum disorder n 2 attention deficit hyperactivity disorder n 1 cognitive functioning n 2 alcohol use disorder n 1 studies used goaloriented n 4 cognitive training games n 6 total 674 participants included metaanalysis 380 experimental 294 control groups metaanalysis nine studies comprising ten comparisons using random effects model showed moderate effect improvement symptoms g 055 95 ci 028 083 p 0001 favoring serious games intervention controls discussionconclusion though number studies metaanalysis small findings suggest serious gaming interventions may effective reducing disorder related symptoms studies needed order attain deeper knowledge efficacy specific mental disorders longer term effects new type treatment mental disorders