Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35587873›Full record

ReviewJMIR serious games2022

Using Video Games to Improve the Sexual Health of Young People Aged 15 to 25 Years: Rapid Review.

Ignacio Franco Vega, Anastasia Eleftheriou, Cynthia Graham

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in JMIR serious games, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Ignacio Franco VegaDepartment of Social & Policy Sciences, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3023-8485
Anastasia EleftheriouTRI Technologos Research and Innovation Services Ltd, Larnaka, Cyprus.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8120-339X
Cynthia GrahamDepartment of Psychology, Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7884-599X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSexually transmitted infections and unintended pregnancies among young people remain public health concerns in many countries. To date, interventions that address these concerns have had limited success. Serious games are increasingly being used as educational tools in health and professional public education. Although acknowledged as having great potential, few studies have evaluated the use of serious games in sexual health education among young people, and to date, there have been no published reviews of these studies.

objectiveThis study aims to assess the effects of video game-based sexual health interventions for risky sexual behavior in young people aged between 15 and 25 years.

methodsA rapid review of randomized controlled trials and quasi-randomized controlled trials was performed. The search included the following bibliographic databases: Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Embase, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Scopus. A total of 2 reviewers independently screened 50% (35/70) of the retrieved articles during the full-text screening phase.

resultsFrom a total of 459 identified citations, after removing duplicates, 327 (71.2%) articles were deemed eligible for title and abstract screening. Of the 327 articles, 70 (21.4%) full texts were screened, from which 10 (3.1%) articles (evaluating 11 different games) were included in the review. The findings highlighted the considerable diversity in video game-based interventions and assessed sexual health outcomes. Although there were some promising findings in outcome studies using game-based interventions, the results across studies were mixed.

conclusionsAlthough game interventions for sexual health have been in existence for almost three decades, relatively few studies have evaluated them, and the results of previous outcome studies have been mixed. Moreover, there is little clarity regarding which specific elements of a game facilitate positive outcomes. We provide recommendations for future researchers developing video game-based interventions to improve sexual health in young people.

Indexed as

mobile phonerapid reviewserious gamessex educationsexually transmitted infections

Identifiers

PMID35587873
PMCPMC9164099

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.