The performance of serious games for enhancing attention in cognitively impaired older adults

Abd-alrazaq, Alaa; Abuelezz, Israa; Al-Jafar, Eiman; Denecke, Kerstin; Househ, Mowafa; Aziz, Sarah; Ahmed, Arfan; Aljaafreh, Ali; AlSaad, Rawan; Sheikh, Javaid (2023). The performance of serious games for enhancing attention in cognitively impaired older adults npj Digital Medicine, 6(1), pp. 1-9. Springer Nature 10.1038/s41746-023-00863-2

[img]
Preview
Text
s41746-023-00863-2.pdf - Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons: Attribution (CC-BY).

Download (931kB) | Preview

Attention, which is the process of noticing the surrounding environment and processing information, is one of the cognitive functions that deteriorate gradually as people grow older. Games that are used for other than entertainment, such as improving attention, are often referred to as serious games. This study examined the effectiveness of serious games on attention among elderly individuals suffering from cognitive impairment. A systematic review and meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials were carried out. A total of 10 trials ultimately met all eligibility criteria of the 559 records retrieved. The synthesis of very low-quality evidence from three trials, as analyzed in a meta-study, indicated that serious games outperform no/passive interventions in enhancing attention in cognitively impaired older adults (P < 0.001). Additionally, findings from two other studies demonstrated that serious games are more effective than traditional cognitive training in boosting attention among cognitively impaired older adults. One study also concluded that serious games are better than traditional exercises in enhancing attention. Serious games can enhance attention in cognitively impaired older adults. However, given the low quality of the evidence, the limited number of participants in most studies, the absence of some comparative studies, and the dearth of studies included in the meta-analyses, the results remain inconclusive. Thus, until the aforementioned limitations are rectified in future research, serious games should serve as a supplement, rather than a replacement, to current interventions.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

School of Engineering and Computer Science > Institute for Patient-centered Digital Health
School of Engineering and Computer Science

Name:

Abd-alrazaq, Alaa;
Abuelezz, Israa;
Al-Jafar, Eiman;
Denecke, Kerstin0000-0001-6691-396X;
Househ, Mowafa;
Aziz, Sarah;
Ahmed, Arfan;
Aljaafreh, Ali;
AlSaad, Rawan and
Sheikh, Javaid

Subjects:

R Medicine > R Medicine (General)
T Technology > T Technology (General)

ISSN:

2398-6352

Publisher:

Springer Nature

Language:

English

Submitter:

Kerstin Denecke

Date Deposited:

11 Jul 2023 11:26

Last Modified:

25 Oct 2023 13:37

Publisher DOI:

10.1038/s41746-023-00863-2

Related URLs:

ARBOR DOI:

10.24451/arbor.19600

URI:

https://arbor.bfh.ch/id/eprint/19600

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item
Provide Feedback