Adherence, frequency, and long‐term follow‐up of video game‐based treatments in patients with attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder: A systematic review

Abstract

BackgroundAttention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder in children and adolescents. Recent studies show that video games have great potential for the treatment and rehabilitation of ADHD patients.The aim of the present review is to systematically review the scientific literature on the relationship between video games and ADHD, focusing on adherence to treatment, frequency of the intervention, and the long‐term follow‐up of video games in children and adolescents with ADHD.MethodsThe preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta‐analyses guidelines were adopted. The review protocol was registered in PROSPERO database. We searched in three databases, PubMed, Medline, and Web of Science to identify studies examining the association between video game interventions in ADHD patients.ResultsA total of 18 empirical studies met the established inclusion criteria. The results showed that video games‐based interventions can be used to improve ADHD symptoms and display high adherence to treatment. In addition, in the studies reviewed, the most common intervention frequency is 30 min three to five times per week. However, there is little evidence from studies with video games showing long‐term effects in patients with ADHD.ConclusionVideo games are useful and effective interventions that can complement traditional treatments in patients with ADHD.

The Effectiveness of Serious Games as Digital Therapeutics for Enhancing the Abilities of Children with ADHD: A Systematic Literature Review (Preprint)

“…Improvements in working memory can be more intuitively reflected in scores on games, and inhibitory control-related abilities are improved to some extent primarily by completing impulse-suppressing game challenges. Beyond this, it is not clear whether long-term interventions lead to significant improvements, which is consistent with the results of previous reviews [68 ]. The results of the current research on the likability of serious games are generally positive.…”