SynthesisJournal of medical Internet research2020
Effectiveness of Serious Games to Increase Physical Activity in Children With a Chronic Disease: Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis.
Synthesis in Journal of medical Internet research, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 38 citations in OpenAlex.
- Lifestyle eHealth and mHealth Interventions for Children and Adolescents: Systematic Umbrella Review and Meta-Meta-Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Pooled it
- An umbrella review of the benefits and risks associated with youths' interactions with electronic screens.Nature human behaviour · 2024Pooled 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
- Effect of a Mobile Game-Based Intervention to Enhance Child Safety: Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Trial
- Safe Listening Beliefs, Attitudes, and Practices Among Gamers and Esports Participants: International Web-Based Survey.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- Article
- Digital Serious Games to Promote Behavior Change in Children With Chronic Diseases: Scoping Review and Development of a Self-Management Learning Framework.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Article
- Translating Promoting Factors and Behavior Change Principles Into a Blended and Technology-Supported Intervention to Stimulate Physical Activity in Children With Asthma (Foxfit): Design Study.JMIR formative research · 2022Article
- Personalised Dosing Using the CURATE.AI Algorithm: Protocol for a Feasibility Study in Patients with Hypertension and Type II Diabetes Mellitus.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Modification in the Motor Skills of Seniors in Care Homes Using Serious Games and the Impact of COVID-19: Field Study.JMIR serious games · 2022Article
- COVID-19 Pandemic and Reduced Physical Activity: Is There an Impact on Healthy and Asthmatic Children?Frontiers in pediatrics · 2021Review
- Rehabilitation Exergames: Use of Motion Sensing and Machine Learning to Quantify Exercise Performance in Healthy Volunteers.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologies · 2020Article
- School-Based Interventions for Promoting Physical Activity Using Games and Gamification: A Systematic Review Protocol.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- Review
- Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPhysical activity (PA) is important for children with a chronic disease. Serious games may be useful to promote PA levels among these children.
objectiveThe primary purpose of this systematic review was to evaluate the effectiveness of serious games on PA levels in children with a chronic disease.
methodsPubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, ERIC, Cochrane Library, and CINAHL were systematically searched for articles published from January 1990 to May 2018. Both randomized controlled trials and controlled clinical trials were included to examine the effects of serious games on PA levels in children with a chronic disease. Two investigators independently assessed the intervention, methods, and methodological quality in all articles using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Both qualitative and quantitative analyses were performed.
resultsThis systematic review included 9 randomized controlled trials (886 participants). In 2 of the studies, significant between-group differences in PA levels in favor of the intervention group were reported. The meta-analysis on PA levels showed a nonsignificant effect on moderate to vigorous PA (measured in minutes per day) between the intervention and control groups (standardized mean difference 0.30, 95% CI -0.15 to 0.75, P=.19). The analysis of body composition resulted in significantly greater reductions in BMI in the intervention group (standardized mean difference -0.24, 95% CI -0.45 to 0.04, P=.02).
conclusionsThis review does not support the hypothesis that serious games improve PA levels in children with a chronic disease. The meta-analysis on body composition showed positive intervention effects with significantly greater reductions in BMI in favor of the intervention group. A high percentage of nonuse was identified in the study of serious games, and little attention was paid to behavior change theories and specific theoretical approaches to enhance PA in serious games. Small sample sizes, large variability between intervention designs, and limited details about the interventions were the main limitations. Future research should determine which strategies enhance the effectiveness of serious games, possibly by incorporating behavior change techniques.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.