Effects of Serious Games for Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Systematic Literature Review

Houqiang Huang; Min Huang; Qi Chen; Mark Hayter; Roger Watson

doi:10.2196/46358

Effects of Serious Games for Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Systematic Literature Review

JMIR Serious Games. 2023 Sep 25:11:e46358. doi: 10.2196/46358.

Authors

Houqiang Huang^#¹, Min Huang^#², Qi Chen³, Mark Hayter⁴, Roger Watson⁵

Affiliations

¹ Nursing Department, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China.
² Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China.
³ Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China.
⁴ School of Nursing & Public Health, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, United Kingdom.
⁵ Nursing Faculty, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 37747768
PMCID: PMC10562969
DOI: 10.2196/46358

Abstract

Background: The use of serious games for rehabilitation has been an emerging intervention in health care fields, referred to as an entertaining and positive activity. Although related studies have been conducted on patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a more comprehensive study that summarizes and evaluates its effects in this area is needed.

Objective: This review aimed to systematically evaluate the effects of serious games in promoting rehabilitation and related outcome measures of serious game-based engagement in patients with COPD.

Methods: This review adhered to the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) statement. Searches were performed in the following databases: PubMed, Scopus, Embase (via Ovid), CINAHL, Science Direct, and China Biology Medicine disc. Only quantitative studies were included in this review, and the methodological quality and bias of the included studies were evaluated using related tools. Several outcomes, including clinical outcomes and serious game-based engagement outcomes, were ultimately collected in this review. The results were summarized and evaluated using descriptive methods due to significant heterogeneity.

Results: In total, 11 studies were included. Serious games played a potentially positive effect on pulmonary function and exercise capacity. However, no consistent findings were reported on dyspnea and psychological status. Additionally, serious game engagement showed favorable findings on adherence, enjoyment, and acceptability. Furthermore, no serious adverse effects were identified in all included studies.

Conclusions: This review preliminarily indicated the potential benefits of serious games in promoting rehabilitation for patients with COPD, despite the limited quality of the included studies. More studies with high methodological quality are needed to further explore the effects of serious games in this field.

Keywords: COPD; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; mobile phone; rehabilitation; review; serious game.

©Houqiang Huang, Min Huang, Qi Chen, Mark Hayter, Roger Watson. Originally published in JMIR Serious Games (https://games.jmir.org), 25.09.2023.

Publication types

Review