Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Serious Games
Date Submitted: May 15, 2023
Date Accepted: Jun 27, 2024
Gamification in Mobile Applications for Children with Disabilities: A Scoping Review
ABSTRACT
Background:
Children with disabilities face numerous challenges in accessing health services. Mobile health (mHealth) is an emerging field that could significantly reduce health inequities by providing more accessible services. Many mobile applications (mobile apps) incorporate gamification elements such as feedback, points, and stories to increase engagement and motivation; however, little is known about the possible uses and benefits of mobile-based gamification in mobile apps for children with disabilities.
Objective:
This scoping review aimed to identify and synthesize the existing evidence on the use of gamification in mobile apps for children with disabilities.
Methods:
We searched MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Embase, the ACM Digital Library, and IEEE Xplore to identify papers published between 2008 and 2022. Original empirical research studies reporting on gamified mobile apps for children and youth with disabilities that implemented at least one gamification strategy or tactic were included. Studies investigating serious games or full-fledged games were excluded.
Results:
Thirty-two studies reporting on 29 unique gamified mobile apps were included. The gamification strategies that provided fun and playfulness, feedback on performance, and reinforcement were frequently used; social connectivity was less commonly used as a gamification strategy. Most mobile apps developed for children with disabilities used few gamification strategies. Two main reasons for integrating gamification elements into mobile apps were described in 12 studies: increasing user engagement and motivation and enhancing intervention effects.
Conclusions:
There is great potential in the use of mHealth apps to promote health outcomes for children with disabilities. Research in the field is in its infancy, but this review indicates that there is a positive trend in the use of gamified mobile apps to provide more equitable access to health initiatives and promote more engagement in health and rehabilitation interventions. Inclusive development and evaluation of the role of the technical elements in relation to the human-led interventions are granted, and cost-effectiveness and access must be considered. Clinical Trial: Not Applicable
Citation
Request queued. Please wait while the file is being generated. It may take some time.
Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.