ArticleBMC public health2024
Effectiveness of gamified digital interventions in mental health prevention and health promotion among adults: a scoping review.
Article in BMC public health, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06720792 (An Escape Game to Promote Students' Mental Health Outcomes in the Aftermaths of Covid-19 Pandemic), which is not on this map. Cited by 14 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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.
An Escape Game to Promote Students' Mental Health Outcomes in the Aftermaths of Covid-19 Pandemic: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial Evaluating a Cocreated Intervention
Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 38 citations in OpenAlex.
- Game Design, Effectiveness, and Implementation of Serious Games Promoting Aspects of Mental Health Literacy Among Children and Adolescents: Systematic Review.JMIR mental health · 2025Pooled it
- A Digital Behavioral Health Game for Adolescent Mental Health: A Prespecified Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2026Trial
- Developing and Evaluating Guidelines to Prevent Overdependence on Digital Therapeutics in Children and Adolescents: Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Trial
- Community-Based Mental Health Promotion and Public Policy Integration: A Scoping Review (1990-2024).Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- mHealth-Based Gamification Interventions to Promote Health Among Older Adults: Scoping Review.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2026Article
- "It felt more real": Investigating the User Experience of the MiWaves Personalizing JITAI Pilot Study.International Conference on Pervasive Computing Technologies for Healthcare : [proceedings]. International Conference on Pervasive Computing Technologies for Healthcare · 2026Article
- Design and Evaluation of a Gamification-Based Mobile Application for Reporting Adverse Drug Reactions by Patients and Healthcare Professionals: A Pilot Usability Study in Diabetes Care.Drug, healthcare and patient safety · 2026Article
- From immersion to burnout: anxiety mechanisms and pathways to motivational exhaustion in gamified health education.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Efficacy of gamified digital health interventions for children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health · 2025Review
- Why science must speak differently.Infectious agents and cancer · 2025Article
- Design and Evaluation of a Digital Health App (SingaporeWALK) for Active Aging: Pre-Post Intervention Study.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- Article
- Escape Game to Promote Students' Mental Health Outcomes in the Aftermaths of COVID-19 Pandemic: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study Evaluating a Cocreated Intervention.JMIR research protocols · 2025Article
- RETRACTED: Gamification for Mental Health and Health Psychology: Insights at the First Quarter Mark of the 21st Century.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThough still a young field of research, gamified digital interventions have demonstrated potential in exerting a favourable impact on health and overall well-being. With the increasing use of the internet and digital devices, the integration of game elements presents novel opportunities for preventing mental disorders and enhancing mental health. Hence, this review aims to assess the effectiveness of gamified interventions focusing on preventing mental disorders or promoting mental health among adults.
methodsBased on a scoping review across four databases (MEDLINE, Embase, PsycInfo and Web of Science), 7,953 studies were initially identified. After removing duplicates and screening titles, abstracts and full texts, 16 studies were identified as suitable for inclusion in a narrative synthesis of findings. We included interventional studies encompassing an intervention and a control group aiming to investigate the effectiveness of the use of gamified digital mental health interventions and the use of gamified digital elements.
resultsOverall, positive effects of gamified interventions on mental health-related outcomes were identified. In particular, beneficial consequences for psychological well-being and depressive symptoms were observed in all studies. However, further outcomes, such as resilience, anxiety, stress or satisfaction with life, showed heterogenous findings. Most game elements used were reward, sensation and progress, whilst the quantity of elements was not consistent and, therefore, no substantiated conclusion regarding the (optimal) quantity or composition of game elements can be drawn. Further, the outcomes, measurements and analyses differed greatly between the 16 included studies making comparisons difficult.
conclusionIn summary, this review demonstrates the potential of integrating digital game elements on mental health and well-being with still a great gap of research. A taxonomy is needed to adequately address relevant game elements in the field of mental health promotion and prevention of mental disorders. Therefore, future studies should explicitly focus on the mechanisms of effect and apply rigorous study designs.
Indexed as
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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.