Serious games for improving knowledge and self-management in young people with chronic conditions: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Objective: To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials assessing the effectiveness of serious games in improving knowledge and/or self-management behaviors in young people with chronic conditions.

Materials and methods: The authors searched the databases PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Sciences, and PsychINFO for articles published between January 1990 and January 2014. Reference lists were hand-searched to retrieve additional studies. Randomized controlled trials that compared a digital game with either standard education or no specific education in a population of children and/or adolescents with chronic conditions were included.

Results: The authors identified 9 studies in which the effectiveness of serious games in young people with chronic conditions was evaluated using a randomized controlled trials design. Six studies found a significant improvement of knowledge in the game group from pretest to posttest; 4 studies showed significantly better knowledge in the game group than in the control group after the intervention. Two studies reported significantly better self-management in the game group than in the control group after the intervention. Seven studies were included in the meta-analysis. For knowledge, pooled estimate of Hedges' gu was 0.361 (95% confidence intervals, 0.098-0.624), demonstrating that serious games improve knowledge in patients. For self-management, pooled estimate of Hedges' gu was 0.310 (95% confidence intervals, 0.122-0.497), showing that gaming improves self-management behaviors.

Conclusions: The authors' meta-analysis shows that educational video games can be effective in improving knowledge and self-management in young people with chronic conditions.

Keywords: children; chronic conditions; knowledge; self-management; serious games.

© The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Figures

Figure 1:

Flow diagram showing the selection of studies for the systematic review and meta-analysis.

Figure 2:

Effect size estimates for the effectiveness of games on knowledge of young people with chronic conditions. Plots symbols for the study-specific estimates are proportional to the (square root of the) number of subjects. CI: confidence interval.

Figure 3:

Effect size estimates for the effectiveness of games on self-management of young people with chronic conditions. Plots symbols for the study-specific estimates are proportional to the (square root of the) number of subjects. CI: confidence interval.