Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Jun 5, 2019
Date Accepted: Feb 22, 2020
An internet-based psychological intervention with a serious game to improve vitality, psychological and physical condition, and immune function in healthy male adults: a randomized controlled trial
ABSTRACT
Background:
Recently, internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (e-health CBT) and serious gaming interventions have been suggested to enhance accessibility and engagement in psychological interventions that aim to promote health outcomes. Few studies, however, have investigated their effectiveness in the context of simulated real-life challenges.
Objective:
We aimed to examine the effectivity of a guided e -health CBT combined with serious gaming intervention in optimizing self-reported psychophysiological and immunological health outcomes in response to psychophysiological and immune-related challenges.
Methods:
Sixty-nine healthy males were randomly assigned to the intervention condition, receiving e-health CBT combined with serious gaming for six weeks, or the control condition, receiving no intervention. Self-reported vitality and other self-reported, psychophysiological and immunological outcomes were assessed following various challenges including a BCG-vaccination evoking pro-inflammatory responses, one and four weeks after the intervention period.
Results:
Although the intervention did not affect vitality associated parameters, self-reported sleep problems and bodily sensations were lower directly after the intervention compared to controls. Furthermore, well-being was higher in the intervention group after the psychophysiological challenges. Although no significant group differences were found for the psychophysiological and immunological outcomes, the data provided preliminary support for increased IgG antibody responses at follow-up time-points. Differential chemokine outcomes between conditions were observed at the end of the test day.
Conclusions:
The present study provides some support for optimizing health outcomes with an innovative e-health intervention. Future research should replicate and further extend the present findings by consistently including challenges and a wide range of immune parameters into the study design. Clinical Trial: Nederlands Trial Register (NTR5610); 4 January 2016.
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