JMIR Serious Games

Exergames have emerged as effective interventions for promoting physical activity and preventing type 2 diabetes (T2D). Kinect-based exergames have demonstrated improvements in exercise adherence and health outcomes, but their high cost and reliance on specialized hardware hinder widespread home-based adoption. Recent advances in computer vision now enable monocular-camera-based systems, offering a potentially cost-effective and scalable alternative for promoting physical activity at home.

Immersive virtual reality-assisted therapy (VRT) is a relational therapy for distressing voices in psychosis. Like AVATAR therapy (AT), VRT centres on therapist-facilitated dialogues with a digital avatar representing a voice. Unlike AT, VRT employs immersive virtual reality (VR). While participant experiences of AT have been explored, therapist perspectives remain unexamined, and for VRT, neither participant nor therapist experiences have been studied. Understanding these perspectives is essential to inform optimization of therapy, future research, and implementation.

Background: Internet gaming disorder (IGD) causes neurocognitive deficits and brain dysfunction. Traditional interventions require specialists and incur high costs, while progressive aerobic training (PAT) seems more practical. But its effect on IGD and the underlying neural mechanism remains unclear.

Staff working in residential care homes (RCHs) have played a significant role in preventing the spread of infection among residents, visitors, and staff. Providing continuous professional training to the staff is essential. Current infection control training mostly rests on short educational talks or one-to-one reminders in the RCHs. A blended mode of online interactive games and face-to-face consultations was now proposed as a new way to conduct infection control training in the RCHs.

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Hand motor dysfunctions significantly reduce the performance of stroke survivors. This affects their motor task abilities to perform effectively. Patients receive slow intervention due to interventional limitations in stroke rehabilitation, which pose challenges for sustaining enduring improvements. The immersive virtual reality (VR) games in this study utilized an innovative approach to cognitive engagement within visual training feedback to attain long-lasting improvements.

Eswatini has one of the highest HIV prevalence rates worldwide (24.8% among people aged ≥15 years), with unprotected heterosexual transmission accounting for more than 90% of new HIV infections in the country. Low HIV risk perception is known to influence risk behavior. Mobile phone technology is growing rapidly, offering opportunities for technology-driven interventions to improve HIV risk perception and prevention.

Timely detection and intervention of visual deficits during early childhood are essential to prevent lifelong impairments. However, reliable assessment of visual function in young children remains a persistent challenge. Conventional pediatric vision tests depend on subjective feedback and sustained cooperation, limiting their accuracy and scalability in real-world settings. Contrast sensitivity function (CSF) is a sensitive and fundamental index of visual performance, yet existing pediatric CSF assessments lack objectivity and adaptability. To bridge this methodological gap, we developed a novel eye-tracking–based gamified CSF (ETGCSF) tool that integrates gaze-based detection with interactive gameplay to objectively quantify CSF in an engaging and child-centered manner.

Informal caregivers play a crucial role in home care and many lack formal training, potentially compromising patient safety. Immersive virtual reality (VR) offers an innovative approach to training by simulating real-life caregiving scenarios in a risk-free environment. Prior to implementation, the environments and the technique’s feasibility and acceptability must be assessed by the professionals who will use it to train caregivers, establishing a performance benchmark based on experienced health care professionals.

Exergame balance training integrates cognitive and motor challenges, potentially enhancing neuroplasticity, postural control, and gait stability in mild cognitive impairment (MCI). However, whether modulating the task difficulty of a balance-based exergame training may influence posture- and gait-related outcomes remains unknown.

Internet gaming disorder (IGD) is prevalent in the world and is associated with significant negative outcomes. Impoverished rural adolescents face unique risks due to limited supervision and unequal digital resources, with limited longitudinal research. Existing studies show sex differences in its prevalence, but their manifestations and mechanisms in rural populations remain unclear.

Individuals with mild intellectual disabilities (ID) often face cognitive and functional challenges, which can lead to low physical activity (PA) and a higher risk of obesity. While virtual reality (VR) exergames show promise for promoting PA in typically developing children, a key barrier for individuals with ID is the lack of a structured teaching methodology. This study argues that a tailored approach is essential to help children with mild ID gain independence in gameplay. By learning specific patterns, they can achieve greater autonomy, which not only facilitates increased PA but also improves motor competence, physical fitness, functional abilities, and overall well-being.