ArticleJMIR serious games2020
Mapping Behavioral Health Serious Game Interventions for Adults With Chronic Illness: Scoping Review.
Article in JMIR serious games, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 2 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, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 30 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effectiveness of Digital Serious Games on Knowledge and Attitudes in Public Health Education: Systematic Review and Bayesian Network Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Pooled 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
- Trial
- Digital Interventions for Palliative Care Education for Nursing Students: A Systematic Review.Nursing reports (Pavia, Italy) · 2026Review
- Development and Usability Evaluation of a Serious Game for Dietary Health Education in Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: A Mixed-Methods Study Based on the SGDA Framework.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2026Article
- Identifying Key Principles and Commonalities in Digital Serious Game Design Frameworks: Scoping Review.JMIR serious games · 2025Review
- Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues in Metaverse-Enabled Healthcare.Blockchain in healthcare today · 2025Review
- The Role of Relevance in Shaping Perceptions of Sleep Hygiene Games Among University Students: Mixed Methods Study.JMIR serious games · 2024Article
- 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
- Effects of a Gamified Agent-Based System for Personalized Elderly Care: Pilot Usability Study.JMIR serious games · 2023Article
- A Software Engineering Framework for Reusable Design of Personalized Serious Games for Health: Development Study.JMIR serious games · 2023Article
- Who Engages and Why It Matters?: Describing Participant Engagement in a Serious Game Intervention for Patients With Advanced Cancer.International journal of gaming and computer-mediated simulations · 2023Article
- Testing the effects of the Strong Together self-advocacy serious game among women with advanced cancer: Protocol for the STRONG randomized clinical trial.Contemporary clinical trials · 2023Article
- Game Changer: Is Palliative Care Ready for Games?JCO clinical cancer informatics · 2022Article
- An Exploratory Digital Board Game Approach to the Review and Reinforcement of Complex Medical Subjects Like Anatomical Education: Cross-sectional and Mixed Methods Study.JMIR serious games · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSerious games for health are increasingly being used to address health outcomes in patients with chronic illnesses. These studies vary in their study designs, patient populations, frameworks, outcome variables, and degree of specificity of the serious game intervention.
objectiveThis scoping review aims to clarify the conceptual features of the existing research related to serious games designed to improve cognitive and behavioral outcomes in adults with chronic illness.
methodsWe applied the Preferred Reporting Items of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR) methodology, including an a priori research question. We searched 4 electronic databases to identify articles published through November 2019. Inclusion criteria encompassed (1) adults 18 years or older; (2) patients with a diagnosis of chronic illness; (3) a serious game intervention; and (4) defined patient outcomes that assess patients' behavioral, cognitive, or health outcomes.
resultsOf the 3305 articles identified, 38 were included in the review. We charted and analyzed the theoretical frameworks, key concepts, and outcome variables of these studies with summaries of features across articles. The majority of studies used a randomized controlled trial design (23/38, 61%), included a custom serious game intervention (22/38, 58%), and lacked a theoretical framework (25/38, 66%). Common outcome variables included quality of life (16/38, 42%), mood (15/38, 39%), cognitive function (13/38, 34%), symptoms (12/38, 32%), and physical activity (9/38, 24%). Key differences between studies included whether or not serious games aimed to train versus teach patients, be widely accessible versus tailored interventions, or replace versus complement current treatments.
conclusionsThis scoping review defines the current landscape of research in serious games for health research targeting behavioral and cognitive outcomes in adults with chronic disease. Studies have addressed a variety of patient populations and diverse patient outcomes. Researchers wanting to build on the current research should integrate theoretical frameworks into the design of the intervention and trial to more clearly articulate the active ingredients and mechanisms of serious games.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.