Gamification in Mobile Apps for Children With Disabilities: Scoping Review.

Area of Science:

• Digital Health
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Pediatric Health

Background:

• Children with disabilities face significant barriers in accessing healthcare services.
• Mobile health (mHealth) offers a potential solution to reduce health inequities.
• Gamification in mobile apps aims to boost user engagement and motivation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a scoping review on gamification in mobile apps for children with disabilities.
• To identify app categories, targeted health outcomes, gamification elements, and integration reasons.
• To synthesize existing research on the use of gamified mobile applications in pediatric disability care.

Main Methods:

• Searched multiple databases (MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Embase, ACM, IEEE Xplore) from 2008-2023.
• Included empirical studies on gamified mobile apps for children with disabilities using at least one gamification strategy.
• Excluded studies on serious games or full-fledged games.

Main Results:

• 38 studies involving 32 unique gamified mobile apps were analyzed.
• Apps focused on communication and oral health for autism spectrum disorder, and self-management/academic skills for other disabilities.
• Common gamification strategies included fun/playfulness, performance feedback, and reinforcement; social connectivity was less common. Primary reasons for gamification were increased engagement and enhanced intervention effects, though impact results were mixed.

Conclusions:

• This review provides a comprehensive overview of gamification elements in mobile apps for pediatric disability treatment and education.
• Identified gaps in research concerning specific disability groups and health-related outcomes.
• Emphasized the need for further investigation into the effectiveness of mobile gamification on health behaviors and healthy development.