Jordan Krissy, Landy Christine Kurtz, Da Silva Celina, Dastjerdi Mahdieh, Grunfeld Bella
School of Nursing, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
PLoS One. 2025 Jun 3;20(6):e0325327. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0325327. eCollection 2025.
Virtual serious games (VSGs) offer an engaging approach to women's health education. This review examines the state of research on VSGs, focusing on intended users, design characteristics, and assessed outcomes.
Following JBI methodology guidance for the scoping review, searches were conducted in the MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, Web of Science, and PsycINFO databases from inception to April 22, 2024. Eligible sources included participants: women or females aged 18 years and older, with no restrictions based on health condition or treatment status; concept: VSGs; context: settings where health education is provided. Sources were restricted to English language and peer-reviewed articles. Two reviewers independently screened titles, abstracts, and full texts using eligibility criteria. Data extraction was performed by one reviewer and verified by another using a custom tool. Quantitative (e.g., frequency counting) and qualitative (content analysis) methods were employed. The findings were organized into figures and tables accompanied by a narrative description.
12 studies from 2008 to 2023, mostly in the U.S. (66.7%), explored various age groups and women's health, focusing on breast and gynecological cancer (67%). Half (50%) of the VSGs were theory-informed; 41.7% involved users, and 58.3% had partnerships. Game types included tablet (41.7%), mobile (25%), and web (33.3%). Gameplay dosage varied from single session (50%) to self-directed (25%) and specific frequency (25%). Gameplay duration was self-directed (50%) or fixed lengths (50%). Outcomes included knowledge (50%), skills (16.7%), satisfaction (58.3%), health-related metrics (41.7%), and gameplay analysis (16.7%).
Studies show increased interest in VSGs for women's health education, especially regarding breast and gynecological cancer. The focus on theoretical frameworks, user involvement, and collaborations highlights a multidisciplinary approach. Varied game modalities, dosage, and assessed outcomes underscore VSG adaptability. Future research should explore long-term effects of VSGs to advance women's health education.
虚拟严肃游戏（VSGs）为女性健康教育提供了一种引人入胜的方法。本综述考察了关于虚拟严肃游戏的研究现状，重点关注目标用户、设计特征和评估结果。
遵循循证卫生保健国际协作网（JBI）循证综述方法学指南，在MEDLINE、护理学与健康领域数据库（CINAHL）、荷兰医学文摘数据库（EMBASE）、科学引文索引数据库（Web of Science）和心理学文摘数据库（PsycINFO）中进行检索，检索时间范围从建库至2024年4月22日。符合条件的来源包括：参与者为18岁及以上的女性或雌性，不基于健康状况或治疗状态进行限制；概念为虚拟严肃游戏；背景为提供健康教育的场所。来源仅限于英文且经过同行评审的文章。两名评审员使用纳入标准独立筛选标题、摘要和全文。数据提取由一名评审员进行，并由另一名评审员使用自定义工具进行核实。采用了定量（如频数计数）和定性（内容分析）方法。研究结果整理成图表并伴有叙述性描述。
2008年至2023年的12项研究，大多来自美国（66.7%），探索了不同年龄组和女性健康问题，重点是乳腺癌和妇科癌症（67%）。一半（50%）的虚拟严肃游戏有理论依据；41.7%涉及用户，58.3%有合作关系。游戏类型包括平板电脑游戏（41.7%）、手机游戏（25%）和网页游戏（33.3%）。游戏玩法剂量从单次会话（50%）到自主式（25%）和特定频率（25%）不等。游戏玩法时长为自主式（50%）或固定时长（50%）。结果包括知识（50%）、技能（16.7%）、满意度（58.3%）、健康相关指标（41.7%）和游戏玩法分析（16.7%）。
研究表明，对用于女性健康教育的虚拟严肃游戏的兴趣有所增加，尤其是在乳腺癌和妇科癌症方面。对理论框架、用户参与和合作的关注突出了多学科方法。多样的游戏模式、剂量和评估结果强调了虚拟严肃游戏的适应性。未来的研究应探索虚拟严肃游戏的长期效果，以推进女性健康教育。
