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Gamification for Family Engagement in Lifestyle Interventions: A Systematic Review

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Abstract

The majority of chronic conditions that plague the USA are modifiable by lifestyle change. Lifestyle interventions that incorporate family members for social support and that use game design elements to engage family members have the potential to improve upon traditional interventions, which have largely been unsustainable. Determining the populations where family member support in a lifestyle intervention are present and the extent of gamification of lifestyle intervention components that engage these family members is an important and underexplored area of work. A systematic review of lifestyle interventions involving family members were reviewed for game design elements using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) framework. Game design elements related to engaged learning and motivational affordances from previous literature were included. Sixty-one studies met inclusion criteria. These studies reported on 50 independent interventions that were reviewed. Thirty-one of these interventions addressed lifestyle in those with a chronic condition, and 19 addressed lifestyle in those at high risk for chronic conditions. The majority of the lifestyle interventions included at least one game design element, yet overall there were limited elements utilized together. Compared with successful gamified programs that have greatly impacted a population’s health behaviors, there were relatively a limited number of elements reported, particularly those that support social relatedness, such as meaningful storylines. Meaningfulness of the game design elements chosen and their arrangement was not apparent. Technology was under-utilized as a potential modality for intervention component delivery. Developing products to train researchers to properly apply game design elements to intervention components, as well as test their effectiveness, are areas for future research.

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PRISMA was used to guide the review. The search code is located in the methods section of the manuscript.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Clarice E. Hibbard, BAS, for her contribution in testing the inter-rater reliability, or consensus, of our review.

Funding

The preparation of this paper was supported by the Department of Veterans Affairs Center for Clinical Management Research (CCMR), the University of Michigan School of Nursing’s Systems, Populations and Leadership Department, the National Institues of Health (K23HL140165), and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ R01HS028038).

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ACB carried out the review, created the matrix, analyzed the data, and drafted the manuscript. TSV and PA made substantial contributions to analyzing the data, contributing to the manuscript, and critical revision for intellectual content. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Amanda C. Blok.

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Blok, A.C., Valley, T.S. & Abbott, P. Gamification for Family Engagement in Lifestyle Interventions: A Systematic Review. Prev Sci 22, 831–844 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-021-01214-x

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