ArticleJMIR serious games2017
Gamification in Stress Management Apps: A Critical App Review.
Article in JMIR serious games, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 33 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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Who cites it
33 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Conceptual Ambiguity Surrounding Gamification and Serious Games in Health Care: Literature Review and Development of Game-Based Intervention Reporting Guidelines (GAMING).Journal of medical Internet research · 2021Pooled it
- Comparing Web-Based and Blended Training for Coping With Challenges of Flexible Work Designs: Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Trial
- Effectiveness of the mobile application Holidaily in reducing work-related rumination when returning to work after vacation: a randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in digital health · 2026Article
- Personalizing mobile applications for health based on user profiles: A preference matrix from a scoping review.PLOS digital health · 2025Review
- Facilitators of and Barriers to Teachers' Engagement With Consumer Technologies for Stress Management: Qualitative Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Article
- Gamification in Mobile Apps for Children With Disabilities: Scoping Review.JMIR serious games · 2024Article
- High School Teachers' Experiences of Consumer Technologies for Stress Management During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Qualitative Study.JMIR formative research · 2023Article
- Stress Management Apps: Systematic Search and Multidimensional Assessment of Quality and Characteristics.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2023Review
- Removing Dust From the German Health Care System by Introducing Health Apps Into Standard Care: Semistructured Interview Study.JMIR human factors · 2023Article
- An Emotional Bias Modification for Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Co-design Study.JMIR formative research · 2022Article
- Digital Prompts to Increase Engagement With the Headspace App and for Stress Regulation Among Parents: Feasibility Study.JMIR formative research · 2022Article
- User Engagement and Abandonment of mHealth: A Cross-Sectional Survey.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Gamification-based intervention for enhancing team effectiveness and coping flexibility: Randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Article
- Brain+ AlcoRecover: A Randomized Controlled Pilot-Study and Feasibility Study of Multiple-Domain Cognitive Training Using a Serious Gaming App for Treating Alcohol Use Disorders.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2021Article
- A Randomized Controlled Trial of Attentional Control Training for Treating Alcohol Use Disorder.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2021Article
- Emotional Bias Modification for Individuals With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Protocol for a Co-Design Study.JMIR research protocols · 2020Article
- Potential Benefits and Risks Resulting From the Introduction of Health Apps and Wearables Into the German Statutory Health Care System: Scoping Review.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2020Article
- An analysis on self-management and treatment-related functionality and characteristics of highly rated anxiety apps.International journal of medical informatics · 2020Review
- Efficacy of a smartphone-based intervention - "Holidaily" - promoting recovery behaviour in workers after a vacation: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.BMC public health · 2020Article
- Toward Gamified Pain Management Apps: Mobile Application Rating Scale-Based Quality Assessment of Pain-Mentor's First Prototype Through an Expert Study.JMIR formative research · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIn today's society, stress is more and more often a cause of disease. This makes stress management an important target of behavior change programs. Gamification has been suggested as one way to support health behavior change. However, it remains unclear to which extend available gamification techniques are integrated in stress management apps, and if their occurrence is linked to the use of elements from behavior change theory.
objectiveThe aim of this study was to investigate the use of gamification techniques in stress management apps and the cooccurrence of these techniques with evidence-based stress management methods and behavior change techniques.
methodsA total of 62 stress management apps from the Google Play Store were reviewed on their inclusion of 17 gamification techniques, 15 stress management methods, and 26 behavior change techniques. For this purpose, an extended taxonomy of gamification techniques was constructed and applied by 2 trained, independent raters.
resultsInterrater-reliability was high, with agreement coefficient (AC)=.97. Results show an average of 0.5 gamification techniques for the tested apps and reveal no correlations between the use of gamification techniques and behavior change techniques (r=.17, P=.20), or stress management methods (r=.14, P=.26).
conclusionsThis leads to the conclusion that designers of stress management apps do not use gamification techniques to influence the user's behaviors and reactions. Moreover, app designers do not exploit the potential of combining gamification techniques with behavior change theory.
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