Review and special articleRole of Video Games in Improving Health-Related Outcomes: A Systematic Review
Section snippets
Context
In 2009, U.S. retail sales of video games—including portable and console hardware, software and accessories—totaled more than $19.5 billion,1 which is greater than the gross national product for each of more than 90 world nations.2 In the U.S. and UK, the best-selling video game title of 2010,“Call of Duty: Black Ops,” amassed more revenue in its first day of sales than the biggest-ever first-day sales of any book, record album, or movie, including all Harry Potter and Star Wars titles.3
Today's
Research Question
The research question was defined as: Do results from RCTs indicate that video games can be effective interventions in promoting health and/or improving health outcomes associated with established ICD-9 codes? The scope of the question was not limited based on patient characteristics such as age.
Selection Criteria
A comprehensive research protocol was created (Appendix A, available online at www.ajpmonline.org). For inclusion in this systematic review, studies had to (1) be an RCT; (2) use a video game as the
Study Identification and Selection
The search strategy yielded 1452 unique articles. Of the 1452 articles, 38 (2.6%) met inclusion criteria (Figure 1). The two researchers who reviewed articles for inclusion had substantial agreement after their first independent assessments (% agreement=98.4%; κ=0.70, p<0.0001) according to the Landis and Koch framework.51 After adjudication, consensus was achieved easily in 100% of cases. Each article was assigned a single primary reason for exclusion. The most common reason for study
Discussion
The present study synthesizes the results of 38 RCTs, each of which tested the ability of a video game intervention to promote health and/or ameliorate disease. It finds that video games have been evaluated for a wide variety of health-related purposes among participants of all ages, most commonly for their ability to train patients and clinicians physically or psychologically. However, they also have been studied with respect to health education, disease self-management, distraction from pain,
Conclusion
Despite these limitations, this comprehensive systematic review demonstrates that video games may have potential for improving health in a wide variety of areas, for a variety of sociodemographic groups. This is a valuable finding, particularly given the growing popularity and ubiquity of video games worldwide. To most effectively assess the potential benefits of video games for health, it will be important for further research to utilize (1) RCT methodology when appropriate; (2) longer
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